Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

ETHNOMYCOLOGICAL SURVEY AND MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATION OF MACROFUNGI UTILIZED BY BICOLANO COMMUNITY IN CAMARINES SUR, SOUTHERN LUZON, PHILIPPINES

Jerwin R. Undan, Shiena Marie C. Fermin, Larisa Mae A. Pajarillaga, Mark Andre C. Malonzo, Sofronio P. Kalaw, Renato G. Reyes and Angeles M.De Leon

Abstract

In the Philippines, mushrooms are one of the most important foods of the local communities situated near the mountainous region. However, they lack knowledge on how they fully benefit from these important resources found in the area. In this study, the survey and documentation on the traditional knowledge of Bicolanos on the utilization of mushroom species was conducted. Qualitative survey was done using interviews with the help of survey questionnaires for the documentation of data and followed by collection of mushroom species using purposive sampling. The collected mushrooms were placed in the sterile properly labelled brown paper bag for molecular identification and for germplasm preservation. The results showed that there were seven mushroom species utilized mainly as food by the Bicolanos. During the collection, five species were collected and were initially identified using its morphology and verified using molecular approach. The collected mushroom PCO8 has 100% sequence similarity to Schizophyllum commune (MK732122.1), the mushroom sample PC01 has 99.59% sequence similarity to Auricularia polytricha (MN523226.1), the mushroom sample PC04 has 99.09% sequence similarity to Coprinopsis cinerea (KX468975.1), the mushroom sample PC05 has 99.84% sequence similarity to Pleurotus djamor (KY328723.1) and the mushroom sample PC16 has 100% sequence similarity to Volvariella volvacea (MG280838.1). People in the community still practice the traditional beliefs and knowledge acquired from their ancestors on mushroom utilization and cultivation. These practices left by their ancestors were traditionally passed on verbally from generation to generation.