Abstract

We have approached species identification of wood decay fungi in construction wood by means of sequencing ribosomal DNA. Sequencing of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS), which includes the 5.8S rDNA, is straightforward and provides a basis for species identification. Identification was either by BLAST search on sequences in GenBank or phylogenetic analysis. A number of important wood decay fungi such as Serpula lacrymans, S. himantioides, Antrodia serialis, A. sinuosa, Gloeophyllum sepiarium, Fomitopsis pinicola, Resinicium bicolor and Junghuhnia collabens have been successfully identified from fruitbodies and directly from wood samples. Sequence variants were found within the species sampled including S. himantioides, the close relative of S. lacrymans. But, among 27 samples from fruitbodies and mycelium of S. lacrymans, unexpectedly, no sequence variation was detected.