Efficient PCR - based Approach for Rapid Identification of Earth Star Mushrooms Employing Species-Specific Primers.

species are valuable edible ectomycorrhizal mushrooms, particularly in Asia. The partial hypogenous nature of fruit bodies in soil present challenges for sample collection and studying species distribution. In this study, we developed a PCR-based approach for identifying . Two universal primers (AUPF1/AUPR1 and AUPF3/AUPR3) and specific primers for . (AAF4/AAR4), . (AOF4/AOR4), and . (ASF2/ASR4) were designed based on the alignment of internal transcribed spacer sequences from various species. Primer verification was performed by generating amplicons from extracted DNA of fruit bodies and 130 soil samples collected from beneath various host plants of spp. These novel primers were efficient and precise in identifying species. Our results have implications for multi-sample assays for identification and investigations into species distribution through large-scale inventories.