The history of conifers in central Italy supports long-term persistence and adaptation of mesophilous conifer fungi in Arbutus-dominated shrublands
A mycological survey from Monti della Tolfa, a volcanic region of central Italy that originated during the Early
Pleistocene and remained isolated from themainland for at least one million years, shows that a thermophilous
shrubland dominated by Arbutus unedo preserves fungal species typically associated with conifers. Pinaceae are
currently absent from the study area. Palynological data from the same region show a decline of Abies and Picea
around 70 ka BP and their complete disappearance during the Holocene. Pinus disappeared during the postglacial.
This may have determined first the isolation of the fungal populations in relict conifer woodlands inMonti della
Tolfa, and then their adaptation to the current habitat, which was favored by the presence of Arbutus unedo, a
broadly receptive species towards fungal associates. Genetic sequences of an isolate of Amanitamuscaria (fly agaric)
fromMonti della Tolfa indicate that our individual is more closely related to North American than to Eurasian
populations and add new insights into the phylogeographic processes of this globally distributed species.