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''Ganoderma'' is a genus of polypore fungi in the family
Ganodermataceae The Ganodermataceae are a family (biology), family of fungi in the order Polyporales. , Index Fungorum accepts 8 genus, genera and 300 species in the family. The family was circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed by Dutch mycologist Marinus An ...
that includes about 80 species, many from tropical regions. They have a high
genetic diversity Genetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species, it ranges widely from the number of species to differences within species and can be attributed to the span of survival for a species. It is dis ...
and are used in traditional Asian medicines. ''Ganoderma'' can be differentiated from other polypores because they have a double-walled basidiospore. They may be called ''shelf mushrooms'' or bracket fungi.


Etymology

The name ''Ganoderma'' is derived from the Greek ''ganos''/γάνος "brightness, sheen", hence "shining" and ''derma''/δέρμα "skin".


History

The genus ''Ganoderma'' was established as a genus in 1881 by Karsten and included only one species, ''G. lucidum'' (Curtis) Karst. Previously, this taxon was characterized as ''Boletus lucidus'' Curtis (1781) and then ''Polyporus lucidus'' (Curtis) Fr. (1821) (Karsten 1881). The species ''P. lucidus'' was characterized by having a laccate (shiny or polished) pileus and stipe, and this is a character that
Murrill Murrill is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Herbert Murrill (1909–1952), English musician, composer, and organist * William Murrill William Alphonso Murrill (October 13, 1869 – December 25, 1957) was an American myc ...
suspected was the reason for Karsten's division because only one species was included, ''G. lucidum'' .Murrill, W. A. 1902. The Polyporaceae of North America, genus I ''Ganoderma''. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 29:599-608. Patouillard revised Karsten's genus ''Ganoderma'' to include all species with pigmented spores, adhering tubes and laccate crusted pilei, which resulted with a total of 48 species classified under the genus ''Ganoderma'' in his 1889 monograph.Atkinson, G. F. 1908. Observations on ''Polyporus lucidus'' Leys and some of its Allies from Europe and North America. Botanical Gazette 46:321-338. Until Murrill investigated ''Ganoderma'' in North America in 1902, previous work had focused solely on European species including, for example, ''G. lucidum, G. resinaceum'' Boud. (1890) and ''G. valesiacum'' Boud. (1895).Murrill, W. A. 1908. Agaricales (Polyporaceae). North Amer. Flora 9:73-131.


Description

''Ganoderma'' are characterized by basidiocarps that are large, perennial, woody brackets also called " conks". They are
lignicolous This glossary of mycology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to mycology, the study of fungi. Terms in common with other fields, if repeated here, generally focus on their mycology-specific meaning. Related terms can be found ...
and leathery either with or without a stem. The fruit bodies typically grow in a fan-like or hoof-like form on the trunks of living or dead trees. They have double-walled, truncate
spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...
s with yellow to brown ornamented inner layers.


Phylogeny

The genus was named by
Karsten Karsten or Carsten is a both a given name and a surname. It is believed to be either derived from a Low German form of Christian, or "man from karst". Notable persons with the name include: Given name ;Carsten: * Carsten Charles Sabathia (born 1 ...
in 1881. Members of the family Ganodermataceae were traditionally considered difficult to classify because of the lack of reliable morphological characteristics, the overabundance of
synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
, and the widespread misuse of names. Until recently, the genus was divided into two sections – ''Ganoderma'', with a shiny cap surface (like ''
Ganoderma lucidum ''Ganoderma lucidum'' is a red-colored species of ''Ganoderma'' with a limited distribution in Europe and parts of China, where it grows on decaying hardwood trees. Wild populations have been found in the United States in California and Utah, but ...
''), and ''Elfvingia'', with a dull cap surface (like ''
Ganoderma applanatum ''Ganoderma applanatum'' (the artist's bracket, artist's conk, artist's fungus or bear bread) is a bracket fungus with a cosmopolitan distribution. Description This fungus is parasitic and saprophytic, and grows as a mycelium within the wood o ...
''). Phylogenetic analysis using DNA sequence information have helped to clarify our understanding of the relationships amongst ''Ganoderma'' species. The genus may now be divided into six
monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
groups: *''G. colossus'' group *'' G. applanatum'' group *'' G. tsugae'' group *Asian '' G. lucidum'' group *'' G. meredithiae'' group *''G. resinaceum'' group With the rise of molecular phylogenies in the late 20th century, species concept hypotheses were tested to determine the relatedness amongst the nuanced morphological variabilities of the laccate ''Ganoderma'' taxa. In 1995, Moncalvo ''et al'' constructed a phylogeny of the rDNA, which was the universally accepted locus at that time, and found five major clades of the laccate species amongst the 29 isolates tested.Moncalvo, J.-M., Wang, H.-F., and Hseu, R.-S. 1995. Gene phylogeny of the ''Ganoderma lucidum'' complex based on ribosomal DNA sequences. Comparison with traditional taxonomic characters. Mycological Research 99:1489-1499. It turned out that ''G. lucidum'' was not a monophyletic species, and further work needed to be done to clarify this taxonomic problem. They also found that ''G. resinaceum'' from Europe, and the North American G. lucidum''', which Adaskaveg and Gilbertson found to be biologically compatible ''in vitro'', did not cluster together.Adaskaveg, J. E., and Gilbertson, R. L. 1986. Cultural studies and genetics of sexuality of ''Ganoderma lucidum'' and ''G. tsugae'' in relation to the taxonomy of the ''G. lucidum'' complex. Mycologia:694-705. Moncalvo ''et al.'' reject biological species complexes as a sole tool to distinguish a taxon, and suggested using a combination between biological and phylogenetic species concepts to define unique ''Ganoderma'' taxa. In 1905, American mycologist William Murrill delineated the genus ''Tomophagus'' to accommodate the single species ''G. colossus'' (then known as ''Polyporus colossus'') which had distinctive morphological features that did not fit in with the other species. Historically, however, ''Tomophagus'' has generally been regarded as a synonym for ''Ganoderma''. Nearly a century later, phylogenetic analyses vindicated Murrill's original placement, as it has shown to be a taxonomically distinct appropriate genus.


Significance


Crop diseases

Some ''Ganoderma'' species can cause major long-term crop losses, especially with trees: *'' G. orbiforme (= G. boninense)'', '' G. zonatum'' and '' G. miniatocinctum'' are responsible for basal stem rot disease in Asian oil palm plantations. *'' G. philippii'' and '' G. pseudoferreum'' are responsible for the root rot of
cacao Cacao is the seed from which cocoa and chocolate are made, from Spanish cacao, an adaptation of Nahuatl cacaua, the root form of cacahuatl ("bean of the cocoa-tree"). It may also refer to: Plants *''Theobroma cacao'', a tropical evergreen tree ** ...
, coffee, rubber and tea trees.


Industry

''Ganoderma'' are wood-decaying fungi with a
cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...
. They can grow on both coniferous and hardwood species. They are white-rot fungi with enzymes that allow them to break down wood components, such as
lignin Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidity ...
and cellulose. There has been significant research interest on the wood-degrading enzymes of ''Ganoderma'' species for industrial applications, such as biopulping and bioremediation.


Phytochemistry

For centuries, ''Ganoderma'' species have been used in traditional medicine in many parts of Asia. These species are often mislabeled as G. lucidum''', although genetic testing has shown this to be multiple species such as ''G. lingzhi, G. multipileum,'' and ''G. sichuanense''. Several species of ''Ganoderma'' contain diverse
phytochemical Phytochemicals are chemical compounds produced by plants, generally to help them resist fungi, bacteria and plant virus infections, and also consumption by insects and other animals. The name comes . Some phytochemicals have been used as poisons ...
s with undefined properties in vivo, such as
triterpenoid Triterpenes are a class of chemical compounds composed of three terpene units with the molecular formula C30H48; they may also be thought of as consisting of six isoprene units. Animals, plants and fungi all produce triterpenes, including squale ...
s and
polysaccharide Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with wa ...
s, an area of investigation under basic research. Although various ''Ganoderma'' species are used in traditional medicine for supposed benefits and have been investigated for their potential effects in humans, there is no evidence from high-quality clinical research that ''Ganoderma'' as a whole mushroom or its phytochemicals have any effect in humans, such as in treating cancer.


Notable species

*''
Ganoderma applanatum ''Ganoderma applanatum'' (the artist's bracket, artist's conk, artist's fungus or bear bread) is a bracket fungus with a cosmopolitan distribution. Description This fungus is parasitic and saprophytic, and grows as a mycelium within the wood o ...
'' - Also known as the artist's conk. An infestation of this species was the main factor in the loss of the
Anne Frank Tree The Anne Frank tree ( nl, Anne Frankboom or, incorrectly, ''Anne Frank boom'') was a horse-chestnut tree (''Aesculus hippocastanum'') in the city center of Amsterdam that was featured in Anne Frank's ''The Diary of a Young Girl''. Anne Frank de ...
. *''
Ganoderma lingzhi Lingzhi, ''Ganoderma lingzhi'', also known as reishi, is a polypore fungus ("bracket fungus") native to East Asia belonging to the genus '' Ganoderma''. Its reddish brown varnished kidney-shaped cap with bands and peripherally inserted stem gi ...
'' - Also known as red reishi, a mushroom used extensively in traditional Asian medicine. *''
Ganoderma lucidum ''Ganoderma lucidum'' is a red-colored species of ''Ganoderma'' with a limited distribution in Europe and parts of China, where it grows on decaying hardwood trees. Wild populations have been found in the United States in California and Utah, but ...
'' - A polypore with limited distribution in Europe and parts of China, often misidentified on products labeled reishi or lingzhi that actually contain ''
Ganoderma lingzhi Lingzhi, ''Ganoderma lingzhi'', also known as reishi, is a polypore fungus ("bracket fungus") native to East Asia belonging to the genus '' Ganoderma''. Its reddish brown varnished kidney-shaped cap with bands and peripherally inserted stem gi ...
'', because of the persistence of outdated naming conventions. *''
Ganoderma sinense ''Ganoderma sinense'' is a black to purplish-black or dark brown laccate species of ''Ganoderma'' found in China, Japan and Taiwan growing on decaying wood of broad-leaved trees and pine stumps. It is used in traditional Asian medicine, where it ...
'' - Also known as black reishi or zizhi. *''
Ganoderma tsugae ''Ganoderma tsugae'', also known as hemlock varnish shelf, is a flat polypore mushroom of the genus '' Ganoderma''. Habitat In contrast to '' Ganoderma lucidum'', to which it is closely related and which it closely resembles, ''G. tsugae'' ten ...
'' - A polypore which grows on
conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
s, especially hemlock, giving it its common name, hemlock varnish shelf. Similar in appearance to ''Ganoderma lucidum'' and a close relative, which typically grows on
hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...
s. *''
Ganoderma microsporum ''Ganoderma microsporum'' is a species of '' Ganoderma'' mushroom native to Taiwan that grows on willow trees. The specific epithet ''microsporum'' refers to the small size of its spores, measuring 6–8.5 by 4.5–5  μm, which is smaller ...
'' - A polypore found in Taiwan with a very small spore size.


See also

*
Ganoderic acid Ganoderic acids are a class of closely related triterpenoids ( derivatives from lanosterol) found in '' Ganoderma'' mushrooms. For thousands of years, the fruiting bodies of ''Ganoderma'' fungi have been used in traditional medicines in East Asia ...


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1799774 Ganodermataceae Polyporales genera Taxa named by Petter Adolf Karsten