Sixty-two isolates of Pisolithus were
obtained from a carpophore population collected from a
90-km2 area of New
South Wales, Australia. Random amplified polymorphic DNA
(RAPD) analysis was used initially to screen
isolates for variation, and restriction fragment length
polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the internal transcribed
spacer (ITS) region and ITS sequence analysis were
subsequently performed on selected isolates. ITS–RFLP and
ITS sequence analysis indicated that two isolates (LJ07 and
WM01) from different sites were considerably
different from all other isolates, a strict consensus tree
generated by bootstrap analysis of sequence data strongly
suggesting that isolates LJ07 and WM01 represent a separate
Pisolithus species. Although the general
morphology of carpophores and basidiospores of the majority
of collected isolates was consistent with previous
descriptions of P. tinctorius (Pers.) Coker and
Couch, basidiospore characteristics suggest that isolates LJO7 and
WMO1 might represent a Pisolithus species
distinct from P. tinctorius and the previously
described Australian
species, P. microcarpus (Cooke & Massee) G. Cunn.