XVI International Botanical Congess

Genetic variation within and between populations of wood-decaying fungi (Aphyllophorales), was studied using RAPD and PCR with M13 core sequence as primer. In the common Fomitopsis pinicola, 95% of the variation existed within populations. In the red-listed hard-wood fungus Steccherinum robustius, preliminary results show low population differentiation, suggesting gene flow over 2-300 km. Many small, desiccation tolerant spores promote gene flow in these fungi. Spores were detected at a distance of 1 km in an experiment with the old-growth fungus Phlebia centrifuga. It was estimated that 13,2 x 106 spores settled within a circle with a radius of 100 m during 24 h. The results indicate that, at a landscape level, these fungi are more likely to be restricted by substrate availability than by dispersal ability.