Host trees and geographic distribution of the phylogenetic groups within the Fomes fomentarius species complexLogar, Robert (Avtor) Gostinčar, Cene (Mentor) Grebenc, Tine (Komentor) Fomes (tinder fungus)wood decomposing fungimolecular barcodingphylogenetic lineagesphylogenetic networkbiodiversityhost specificityMolecular barcoding has revealed distinct evolutionary lineages and the presence of cryptic species within the Fomes fomentarius species complex. As previous studies were limited in geographical and ecological coverage, this study aimed to fill these gaps by integrating broad spatial and host sampling with extensive molecular data analysis. To achieve this, we collected 200 new sporocarps from 15 countries and combined them with sequences from GenBank, resulting in a dataset of 749 ITS rDNA sequences. We confirmed 4 previously known phylogenetic lineages (A1, A2, B1, B2) within F. fomentarius s.l., and no new lineages were found in Europe, suggesting that the current diversity is well represented by the ITS data. Additionally, we detected possible new lineages in Asia and Africa, highlight the importance of further research in those regions. The distribution of phylogenetic lineage B (phylogenetic network haplotype group G1) is in the Mediterranean and lowlands of Central Europe, while phylogenetic lineage A (phylogenetic network haplotype group G5) was more common at higher elevations and in boreal climates. Isolates from Poland and Germany did not show altitude-based patterns but differed in host associations. Group G1 was distributed as an ecological generalist, while group G5 was mostly associated with Betula and Fagus. These findings highlight the importance of combining molecular and ecological data when studying fungal diversity. [R. Logar]20252025-09-12 07:16:41Magistrsko delo/naloga172882UDK: 630*17(043.2)=163.6VisID: 263636COBISS_ID: 248729347sl