Collecting fungal samples for DNA analysis

Fieldwork covered various locations across Slovenia, including Jelovica, Podbreška gmajna, Krvavec, Tegoška planina and the Karavanke Mountains.

Mushroom growth was still relatively modest in the Jelovica area, but a few specimens were found. Approximately 15 species were recorded in Podbreška gmajna, mostly wood mushrooms and true slime molds. Also on Krvavec, where the goal was to check late spring alpine species at an altitude of 1550 meters, conditions were unfavorable due to drought and high temperatures – most of the specimens found were already damaged or infested with worms, which makes reliable DNA analysis impossible.

On Tegoška planina, a few red-leaved mushrooms and a large number of fruiting bodies from the group of angiosperms were collected. All usable samples were dried and prepared for further laboratory procedures. Part of the material was also handed over to the fungal cloning laboratory in Medvode, where samples from the Karavanke were handed over to a research grower.

The collected material will be used for subsequent DNA analysis in a laboratory in the USA, where the samples will be included in a wider international research context. The purpose of the research is to contribute to a better understanding of fungi, their diversity and distribution, and to support the scientific documentation of the mycobiota of the Slovenian region.