Biology of the ectomycorrhizal genus Rhizopogon. VI. Re-examination of infrageneric relationships inferred from phylogenetic analyses of ITS sequences.

Rhizopogon (Basidiomycota, Boletales) is a genus of hypogeous fungi that form ectomycorrhizal associations mostly with members of the Pinaceae. This genus comprises an estimated 100(+) species, with the greatest diversity found in coniferous forests of the Pacific northwestern United States. Maximum parsimony analyses of 54 nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences including 27 Rhizopogon and 10 Suillus species were conducted to test sectional relationships in Rhizopogon and examine phylogenetic relationships with the closely related epigeous genus, Suillus. Sequences from 10 Rhizopogon type collections were included in these analyses. Rhizopogon and Suillus were both monophyletic. Rhizopogon section Rhizopogon is not monophyletic and comprised two clades, one of which consisted of two well supported lineages characterized by several long insertions. Rhizopogon sections Amylopogon and Villosuli formed well supported groups, but certain species concepts within these sections were unresolved. Four species from section Fulviglebae formed a strongly supported clade within section Villosuli. Subgeneric taxonomic revisions are presented.