Abstract
Traditional methods for fungal species identification require diagnostic morphological characters and are often limited by the availability of fresh fruiting bodies and local identification resources. DNA barcoding offers an additional method of species identification and is rapidly developing as a critical tool in fungal taxonomy. As an exercise in an undergraduate biology course, we identified 9 specimens collected from the Hendrix College campus in Conway, Arkansas, USA to the genus or species level using morphology. We report that DNA barcoding targeting the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region supported several of our taxonomic determinations and we were able to contribute 5 ITS sequences to GenBank that were supported by vouchered collection information. We suggest that small-scale barcoding projects are possible and that they have value for documenting fungal diversity.
Recommended Citation
Harrington, A. H.; Bigott, A. F.; Anderson, B. W.; Boone, M. J.; Brick, S. M.; delSol, J. F.; Hotchkiss, R. A.; Huddleston, R. A.; Kasper, E. H.; McGrady, J. J.; McKinnie, M. L.; Ottenlips, M. V.; Skinner, N. E.; Spatz, K. C.; Steinberg, A. J.; van den Broek, F.; Wilson, C. N.; Wofford, A. M.; and Willyard, A. M.
(2014)
"Sampling Local Fungal Diversity in an Undergraduate Laboratory using DNA Barcoding,"
Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 68, Article 12.
https://doi.org/10.54119/jaas.2014.6807
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol68/iss1/12
