Fungos gelatinosos: aspectos taxonômicos e biogeográficos

Abstract

The fungi traditionally known as jelly form a polyphyletic group, so named because of the cartilaginous or gelatinous consistency of basidioma, are classified in orders Auriculariales, Dacrymycetales, Sebacinales and Tremellales, in the classes Agaricomycetes, Dacrymycetes and Tremellomycetes. Microscopically, they are characterized by the presence of fragmented or forked basidia and spores without ornamentation. This work aimed to study taxonomic and biogeographic aspects of jelly fungi, including diagnose the knowledge of the group in the country and promote the expansion of this knowledge by reviewing the literature and collections of herbaria, the taxonomic survey on the Brazilian Savannah areas as well as modeling of potential geographic distribution (past, present and future) of the species the genus Auricularia in the world. A checklist of published literature by the year 2014 listed 88 species of jelly fungi occurring in Brazil, distributed in four orders (Auriculariales, Dacrymycetales, Sebacinales and Tremellales), with the highest number of representatives in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo and Paraná, and the Midwest and Northeast those had less occurrences records, six and eight, respectively. The taxonomic survey on the Brazilian Savannah areas has enabled the expansion of the geographic distribution of species: Dacrymyces chrysospermus, Dacryopinax elegans, D. maxidorii, D. spathularia, Ductifera sucina, Exidia glandulosa, Tremella foliacea and T. fuciformis for the Cerrado and the Midwest region, Auricularia delicata, A. fuscosuccinea, A. mesenterica and Calocera cornea to the state of Goias, and A. delicata for the Federal District. The review of jelly fungi collections deposited in herbaria FLOR, INPA and MPUC added three new occurrences of species for Brazil: Calocera coralloide collected in Roraima, Dacrymyces microsporus in Pará and Rondônia and D. lacrymalis in Amazonas, and expanded geographical distribution Auricularia delicata for the states of Acre and Roraima; A. mesenterica and A. nigricans for Paraíba; Calocera arborea to Roraima and Rondônia; Dacryopinax elegans to Roraima and Santa Catarina; D. spathularia to Pará and Santa Catarina; Tremella compacta, T. foliacea, and T. fuciformis to the Amazonas; and Tremella basiliensis, T. dysenterica and T. mesenterica to Santa Catarina. The potential geographic distribution maps show the specie Auricularia auricula-judae as predominantly the temperate regions, while other widely distributed in tropical regions. In the ecological niche models was observed the targeting of the species the genus for the areas of temperate regions and tropical coastal areas. Still using the environmental variables of the co-occurrence relationships was observed for a group of phylogenetically related species. The climatically stable areas known to A. auricula-judae are located in temperate regions in northern North America, southern South America, southern Europe and Southeast Asia and for the other species, tropical and/or temperate regions in the Southern Hemisphere. The work also presents illustrations, identification key, identification card, descriptions, geographical distribution maps and ecological niche models, which are major subsidies and incentives for the recognition of species and further studies addressing the jelly fungi.