A comparison of populations of Armillaria hinnulea in New Zealand and Australia

Abstract

Armillaria hinnulea has been recorded from the northwest quadrant of the South Island of New Zealand, Tasmania and Australia. In New Zealand, A. hinnulea is rare, being restricted to decaying wood in South Island Nothofagus forests. A preliminary study of the relationship between the populations of A. hinnulea was performed using DNA sequence data from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal DNA. Two major ITS clades were observed, each of which included representative sequences from Australian collections. Within one ITS clade, one Australian sequence was 100% identical with the New Zealand isolates while in the other ITS clade eight New Zealand isolates, representing five locations, were 100% identical but the Australian sequence differed by five base substitutions and was in a separate sub-clade. These results suggest at least two introductions of A. hinnulea have occurred, one relatively recently and one in the more distant past.