In this paper we report a second species of Tomophagus from Cat Tien National Park in southern Vietnam (Cat Tien is a designated UNESCO Biosphere Reserve; The MAB Programme 2007). The new species reported here is distinguished from T. colossus on the basis of combined evidence from morphology, cultural characteristics, and ITS rDNA barcodes. | HỘI NGHỊ KHOA HỌC TOÀN QUỐC VỀ SINH THÁI VÀ TÀI NGUYÊN SINH VẬT LẦN THỨ 4 TOMOPHAGUS CATTIENENSIS SP. NOV., A NEW GANODERMATACEAE SPECIES FROM VIETNAM: EVIDENCE FROM MORPHOLOGY AND ITS DNA BARCODES LE XUAN THAM, NGUYEN LE QUOC HUNG, BUI HOANG THIEM Center for Nuclear Techniques, Vietnam Atomic Energy Commission PHAM NGOC DUONG Cat Tien National Park DUONG VAN HOP Institute for Microorganism and Biotechnology, National University of Hanoi BRYN T. M. DENTINGER, JEAN-MARC MONCALVO Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada Ganoderma Karsten and allies (Ganodermataceae Donk, Polyporales, Agaricomycetidae) are a group of polypore fungi of significant economic importance. Several species cause severe losses to perennial crops in many tropical countries (Flood et al. 2000) and some are of great interest for medicinal and pharmaceutical purposes, particularly in Eastern Asia (Jong & Birmingham 1992, Lin & Zang 2004). Members of the Ganodermataceae are characterized and easily recognized by the unique presence of double-walled basidospores. The monophyly of the group was confirmed in molecular phylogenetic analyses (Hibbett et al. 1997, Moncalvo et al. 2002). However, both generic and specific circumscription within the family have been difficult and controversial (Furtado 1965, Steyaert 1972, 1980, Corner 1983, Zhao 1989, Moncalvo & Ryvarden 1997, Moncalvo 2000). Murrill (1905a,b) created the genus Tomophagus to segregate G. colossum (Fr.) . Baker from Ganoderma based on its unusually thick and pale context that becomes soft and light when dry. Tomophagus was not accepted by Furtado (1965), Steyaert (1972, 1980), Corner (1983), Ryvarden (1991), and many other authors. Steyaert (1980) even suggested that G. colossum could be a tropical variant of the temperate western North American species G. oregonense Murrill that also has a soft and pale context. However, recent molecular phylogenetic studies that used sequence data from the internal transcribed spacers of the .
