First evidence of Pezoloma ericae in Australia: using the Biomes of Australia Soil Environments (BASE) to explore the Australian phylogeography of known ericoid mycorrhizal and root-associated fungi.

The prominent ericoid mycorrhizal fungus, Pezoloma ericae, has not been found in Australia to date. In the present study, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) data from the Biomes of Australia Soil Environments (BASE) was searched for evidence of P. ericae and other known ericoid mycorrhizal and root-associated taxa. ITS sequences with high identity to P. ericae, Meliniomyces bicolor, Meliniomyces variabilis, Cairneyella sp. 2, Cadophora finlandica and Woollsia mycorrhizal fungus VI were identified and their distribution in Australia visualised. This is the first evidence that P. ericae, M. bicolor and M. variabilis very likely occur on the Australian continent and provides a set of locations from which to seek isolates for further characterisation. The presence of P. ericae in South America, South Africa, and now Australia suggests a broad and ancient Gondwanan distribution for this well-studied species.