Revision of root-associated microfungi of Pinus wallichiana in Kashmir Himalaya

Fungi associated with roots of Pinus wallichiana were for the first time evaluated in the recently published study of Tyub et al. (2018). A culture-free approach using RFLP profiling and sequencing analysis of DNA extracted from fine root tips were used to identify ectomycorrhizal and other species present in the roots. However, numerous inconsistences in the interpretation of presented results indicated that the names assigned to particular sequences were incorrect. Therefore, sequences belonging to ascomycete microfungi (predominantly members of Helotiales) obtained in the study were reanalyzed to confirm their identification. A simple phylogenetic analysis utilizing also closely related sequences from GenBank showed that the sequences from this study were mostly misidentified (i.e. placed in different clades than sequences having the same name, but originating from taxonomic studies). Erroneous conclusions resulting from misidentified species and limited knowledge of relevant literature were corrected. Despite numerous inconsistences, the study of Tyub et al. (2018) brought valuable data about fungal diversity and potential taxonomic novelties among helotialean fungi associated with coniferous roots.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author