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Scientists from Russia and Japan found a new species of puffball in Yakutia

  • 13 December 2018
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Scientists from Russia and Japan found a new species of puffball in Yakutia

A group of Russian and Japanese scientists discovered a new species of puffball “Rhizopogon laricinus” in central Yakutia. The discovery was made during the expedition at "Spasskaya Pad" research station, according to TASS.

“A new species of puffball “Rhizopogon laricinus” has been identified. The species was identified using biomolecular methods with ribosomal DNA. The related fungus prefers nitrogen-rich pine forests, but due to climate warming and with an increase in the frequency of forest fires, the fungus changed its environmental conditions for growth”, said Trofim Maksimov, Director of the International Research and Educational Center for Biogeochemistry and Climatology.

According to Maksimov, recent research shows a favorable symbiosis in the circulation of substances. “Plants provide fungi up to 20% of carbon, and fungi provide the plants with nitrogen up to 70%. It is very important in conditions of a lack of mineral substances and low temperatures in the permafrost zone”, he said. A new species of fungus was discovered during an expedition by a group of Russian and Japanese scientists at “Spasskaya Pad” research station near Yakutsk. The research group consisted of NEFU representative Trofim Maksimov, research associates Yumiko Miyamoto, Atsuko Sugimoto from Hokkaido University, Kazuhide Nara from Tokyo University.

The International Research and Educational Center for Biogeochemistry and Climatology –BEST (Biogeoscience Educational and Scientific Training) was established in 2012. The Center together with the Institute of Biological Problems of the Cryolithozone of the SB RAS has a network of scientific stations SakhaFluxNet, which covers the most important bioclimatic zones of permafrost. The research experimental station “Spasskaya Pad”, located several dozen kilometers from Yakutsk, together with the scientific stationary “Elgeyi”, covers the forest bioclimatic zone. The stations “Chokurdakh” and “Kodak”, located in the Allaikhovsky Ulus in the Far North of the Republic, are responsible for monitoring of the tundra and forest-tundra zones.

Author: TASS

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