Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Forestales Vol. 14 (79)

Septiembre – Octubre (2023)

Fecha de recepción/Reception date: 17 de marzo de 2023.

Fecha de aceptación/Acceptance date: 11 de agosto de 2023.

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¹Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales. México.

²Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Victoria. México.

³Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas. México.

*Autor para correspondencia; correo-e: fortunatofgo@gmail.com.

*Corresponding author; e-mail: fortunatofgo@gmail.com.

Abstract

Thornscrubs cover large areas in Northeast Mexico and few species of macrofungi have been reported. The objective of this study was to know the diversity of macrofungi associated with thornscrubs. The results showed a diversity of 218 fungal taxa, belonging to 145 genera and 62 families. 186 species are distributed in both states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, 23 only in Tamaulipas and nine only in Nuevo León. 34 of these species are new records for Northeast Mexico. Basidiomycetes are the most diverse with 187 species, 125 genera and 50 families, followed by Ascomycetes with 23 species, 13 genera and seven families. The Myxomycetes (formerly considered as fungi) were less abundant with eight species, seven genera and five families. As for the genera with the greatest richness, Xylaria had fourteen taxa it was followed by Amanita ten, Lactarius and Lentinus six, Ganoderma, Phellinus and Geastrum four, Boletus three, and the rest less than three. Regarding the edibility of the taxa, 175 were not edible, 18 edible and 25 toxic species were recorded. In relation to growth habit, 62 are mycorrhizal, 117 are saprotrophic, 31 are parasitic and eight are phagotrophic. The altitudinal distribution showed that 94 taxa were recorded between 100 and 500 m of altitude and 104 species grow between 500-700 m. Mycorrhizal and parasitic fungi are associated with 41 plant species.

Key words: Distribution, diversity, ecology, macrofungi, thornscrubs, Northeast Mexico.

Resumen

Los matorrales ocupan grandes extensiones en el Noreste de México, pero en ellos pocas especies de macrohongos han sido citadas. El objetivo de este estudio fue conocer su diversidad asociada a matorrales. Los resultados demostraron una diversidad de 218 taxa de hongos pertenecientes a 145 géneros y 62 familias. En los estados de Nuevo León y Tamaulipas se distribuyeron 186 especies, 23 solo en Tamaulipas y nueve únicamente en Nuevo León. De ellos, 34 son nuevos registros para el Noreste de México. Los basidiomicetos son los más diversos con 187 especies, 125 géneros y 50 familias, le siguen los ascomicetos con 23 especies, 13 géneros y siete familias. Los mixomicetos (antes considerados hongos) son menos abundantes, con ocho especies, siete géneros y cinco familias. En cuanto a los géneros con mayor riqueza: Xylaria está representado por 14 taxones, Amanita con 10, Lactarius y Lentinus con seis, Ganoderma, Phellinus y Geastrum por cuatro, Boletus con tres y el resto menos de tres. Con respecto a la comestibilidad de los taxones, se registraron 175 no comestibles, 18 comestibles y 25 tóxicas. En relación al hábito de crecimiento, 62 son micorrícicos, 117 saprobios, 31 parásitos y ocho fagotróficos. La distribución altitudinal de 94 taxa se ubicó entre 100 y 500 m, 124 especies en un intervalo de 500 a 700 m. Los hongos micorrícicos y parásitos se asociaron a 41 especies de plantas.

Palabras clave: Distribución, diversidad, ecología, macrohongos, matorrales, Noreste de México.

Introduction

The Tamaulipas biogeographic province in the area of the Gulf of Mexico coast is distributed in around 200 000 km², from Northern Mexico to southern Texas, in the United States of America (Conabio, 2021). It is made up of scrub of several types (González, 2003). The thorny scrub has plant species that are 1-4 m tall and grow at altitudes of 100-650 m. The submontane scrub is home to sub-armless trees 4-6 m tall, located in the lower parts of the Sierra Madre Oriental in an east-west direction, between 650 and 700 masl. Both types of scrub include multipurpose plants that are used in rural communities (Alanís, 2006; Estrada et al., 2014). People use them as round wood for the construction of houses and fences, as well as for the manufacture of domestic furniture, agricultural tools, such as charcoal or firewood, and they consume the fruits of some wild species (Alanís, 2006).

The clearing of scrubs for the introduction of grass and livestock for agricultural purposes or for the production of orange trees is a common practice that causes a dramatic loss of biodiversity (Pando et al., 2014), which disappears without being scientifically known. Such is the case of many macro and micro fungi that recycle organic matter.

Some studies in which species of macrofungi have been recorded in Northern Mexican scrub, for example: Favolus brasiliensis (Fr.) Fr., Polyporus alveolaris (DC.) Bondartsev & Singer, Montagnea arenaria (DC.) Zeller, Podaxis pistillaris (L.) Fr., Phellorinia herculeana (Pers.) Kreisel and Tulostoma Pers.spp., are those of Castillo and Guzmán (1970), Esqueda-Valle et al. (1995) and Esqueda et al. (2012). Up to day, there are no reports of macromycetes associated with sensu lato scrub in Northeast Mexico. The objective of this study was to generate information about the species of macromycetes that grow in some scrublands of Northeast Mexico.

Materials and methods

The mushrooms were collected during the last 35 years in more than 100 locations in the states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. The classic protocols for the study of macrofungi were followed, which include recording their macroscopic characteristics in situ in fresh specimens (Largent et al., 1973; Villarreal and Gómez, 1995; Lodge et al., 2004; Bessette et al., 2016). Likewise, the characteristics of the collection sites in the field were noted: altitude, condition of the vegetation, tree, shrub and herbaceous species. Photographs (D3300 Nikon^® camera, 40mm macro lens) of the specimens were taken both at a distance of 1 m, and with macrophotography in order to have the maximum details of the sporomes.

For the microscopic visualization of the different structures that characterize the species, fine cuts were manually made with a knife. These were mounted in KOH reagent (5 %) and Melzer in order to observe the contrast of the structures more clearly (Largent et al., 1977).

For color terminology, the Methuen Handbook of Color (Kornerup and Wanscher, 1978) was used. At least 30 microscopic structures (basidiospores, basidia and pileipellis) were measured with an Axiostar Carl Zeiss^® optical microscope (Quiñónez et al., 2008). The Q ratio, mean length (L) and mean width (W) were obtained for basidiospores as described by Frank et al. (2020).

The identification of the possible hosts with which the saprobe, parasitic and mycorrhizal species were observed was carried out in the CFNL herbarium of the Graduate School of Forest Sciences of the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León in Linares, Nuevo León. The studied material was deposited in the mycological collections of the José Castillo Tovar (ITCV) of the Technological Institute of Ciudad Victoria and the CFNL herbaria. Species were ordered according to Kirk et al. (2008); for the classification of the species the Index Fungorum (2023) was used.

Results

In the present investigation, only a part of the diversity of macromycete species that have been determined associated with the scrublands of Northeast Mexico is documented (Figure 1). The records corresponded to 210 species of Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes, represented in 138 genera of 57 families, in addition to eight species of Myxomycetes from seven genera belonging to five families in the states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. In both states, 186 were distributed, 23 only in Tamaulipas and nine only in Nuevo León. 34 species of them are new records for Northeast Mexico (Table 1).

Frequent species: A = Ganoderma lobatum (Cooke) G. F. Atk.; B = Trametes versicolor (L.) Lloyd; C = Lysurus periphragmoides (Klotzsch ex Hook.) Dring; D = Heliocybe sulcata (Berk.) Redhead & Ginns. Rare species: E = Agaricus deserticola G. Moreno, Esqueda & Lizárraga; F = Pluteus petasatus (Fr.) Gillet; G = Phellodon fibulatus K. A. Harrison.

Figura 1. Some of the macrofungi species found in the shrublands of Northeast Mexico.

Table 1. Taxonomy, growth habit, altitude, edibility and geographical distribution of the studied species.

S1 = Saprobe in soil; S2 = Fimicolous; S3 = Saprobe in wood; M = Mycorrhizal; P = Parasite; F = Phagotrophic; T = Toxic; C = Edible; NC = Not Edible; NL = Nuevo León; TAM = Tamaulipas; NL/TAM = Both States; A2 = Species that grow at altitudes of 500-700 m, the rest of the species grow at altitudes of 100-500 m. * New reports for the region.

Basidiomycetes were the most diverse, with 187 species from 125 genera and 50 families. The Ascomycetes followed with 23 species, 13 genera and seven families; and the Myxomycetes (previously considered fungi) are represented by five families, seven genera and eight species. The Boletaceae, Agaricaceae, Polyporaceae, and Hymenochaetaceae families presented 14, 13, 10, and eight genera, respectively; and the rest had less than ten. The families with the greatest richness were: Agaricaceae 24, Boletaceae 21, Polyporaceae 21, Xylariaceae 14, Hymenochaetaceae 12, Amanitaceae ten, the rest with less than ten. Of the genera, Xylaria Hill ex Schrankhad 14 taxa, Amanita Dill. ex Boehm.ten, Lactarius Pers.and Lentinus Fr. six, Ganoderma P. Karst., Phellinus Quél. and Geastrum Pers.four, Boletus Tourn. three, and the rest less than three.

Habit, edibility, and geographical and altitudinal distribution of species

A total of 62 mycorrhizal species (28.44 %), 117 saprobes (53.66 %), 31 parasites (14.22 %) and eight fimícolas (3.66 %) were recorded. Likewise, 175 non-edible species (80.27 %), 18 edible (8.25 %) and 25 toxic (11.46 %) are recognized.

On the other hand, regarding its distribution, it was observed that 107 taxa (49.08 %) are common in the Northeast states, 71 species (32.56 %) were located only in Tamaulipas and 43 (19.72 %) only in Nuevo León. In addition, regarding its altitudinal distribution, 94 species (43.11 %) grow in intervals of 100 to 500 m and 124 (56.88 %) between 500 and 700 masl.

Main probable hosts of fungi

Forty-one probable hosts for the fungal species were identified, 33 at altitudes of 100-500 m, 18 at 500-700 m ranges and ten in the entire altitudinal spectrum, that is, from 100-700 m.

The main host plant species of parasitic fungi are: Vachellia farnesiana (L.) Wight & Arn., Bumelia celastrina Kunth, Cordia boissieri A. DC., Ebenopsis ebano (Berland.) Barneby & J. W. Grimes, Ehretia anacua (Terán & Berland.) I. M. Johnst., Cylindropuntia leptocaulis (DC.) F. M. Knuth and Parkinsonia aculeata L.

Regarding mycorrhizal fungi, it is probable that some species are associated with Quercus virginiana Mill., Q. canbyi Trel. or with Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch.

Discussion

In Mexico, there are few studies on thorny scrub macrofungus species that have been published. This study is the first to attempt to show the great diversity of macromycete species that inhabit the scrublands of Northern Mexico. One of them is carried out in the Northwestern zone of the country in the states of Sonora and Chihuahua, where some species of gasteroid macromycetes (macromycetes with fruiting bodies with intermediate forms from epigeous to hypogeous) were recorded, e. g. that grow associated with native vegetation (Esqueda et al., 2006, 2012; Moreno et al., 2007, 2010).

In the present study, 218 species of macrofungus associated with the scrublands of Northeast Mexico were obtained for the first time. Of these, 34 species are new records for Northeast Mexico. Some of the taxa agree with those cited from temperate forests at the foot of the mountain by Garza et al. (2019). Likewise, some of the species studied here were indicated by various authors for their edibility or growth habit (Castillo and Guzmán, 1970; García et al., 1986; García, 1993; Garza-Ocañas, 1993).

In regard to the medicinal potential of some of the species studied, there is a coincidence with those referred to by González et al. (2009) (Ganoderma spp.). Hortiboletus rubellus (Krombh.) Simonini, Vizzini & Gelardi, Pisolithus tinctorius (Mont.) E. Fisch.and Scleroderma cepa Pers. are species referred to here that have forestry potential to inoculate oaks in nurseries to plant them in urban areas, since they quickly form abundant mycorrhizae; this agrees with what was described by Garza et al. (2022) for Boletus luridellus (Murrill) Murrill. This study considers some plants that might form ectomycorrhizae with fungal species, but there are no previous records of such associations. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out the synthesis of mycorrhizae under controlled conditions to verify it, as part of another more precise investigation in this regard. Among some fungi that are suspected to form mycorrhizae with plant species such as Cordia boissieri is Phlebopus brassiliensis Singer.

From the diversity of plant species with which parasitic fungal species or possible mycorrhizal fungi are associated, it was decided to include only the main ones. It is worth mentioning that the diversity of macromycetes is high in this region and it is intended to be published in several scientific articles. The foregoing is the large extension occupied by the scrubs, the few mycologists in the region and the uncertainty of the occurrence of rain in the region due to climate change.

Other studies on the diversity of macrofungus species from different regions and types of vegetation in the country highlight their ecological and functional importance, as well as their edibility, medicinal properties, or biotechnological potential (Quiñónez et al., 2008; Pérez-López et al., 2015).

The change in land use leads to disturbances and fragmentation of the scrub habitat and this is referred to as one of the main problems facing the diversity of macrofungus in Northeast Mexico (Alanís, 2006; Pando et al., 2014). Esqueda-Valle et al. (1995) and Esqueda et al. (2006, 2012) refer to some species of gasteroid fungi from thorny scrub in northwestern Mexico and some of the genera that stand out -Battarrea Pers., Cyathus Haller, Chlorophyllum Massee, Disciseda Czern., Montagnea Fr., Podaxis Desv., Phellorinia Berk., Tulostoma Pers.- coincide with those of the present study. Some of the gasteroid species reported by Moreno et al. (2010) and Esqueda et al. (2012) also grow in arid areas where there are scrublands in Northeast Mexico.

Conclusions

The results obtained demonstrated that there is a great diversity of macrofungi in the sensu lato scrublands of Northeast Mexico, however, although there are many more species that have been studied, only a few are listed here. Likewise, there are many more species to be studied that are associated with this ecosystem, which is why even more research is required and that in the future the areas of post-agriculture and post-livestock regeneration are included to generate more information about the pioneer species in this type of vegetation.

Acknowledgements

The authors make clear their gratitude to the authorities of their respective institutions for the support provided for the field and laboratory work for the processing of information.

Conflict of interests

The authors have no conflict of interest in relation to the publication of this article. The data presented here are original and have not been published or sent to be published by other sources.

The authors declare that there is no link with the sponsoring institutions of the research that supports the contributions, so that the published data grant them professional, labor or economic advantages.

Contribution by author

Fortunato Garza Ocañas: collection and identification of species; Jesús García Jiménez: collection and identification of species; Gonzalo Guevara Guerrero: collection and identification of species; Miroslava Quiñónez Martínez: collection of species and writing of the manuscript; María Inés Yáñez Díaz: collection of species and writing of the manuscript.

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