Iryna Yatsiuk

University of Tartu · Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences

Molecular identification of micro- and macroorganisms based on nuclear markers has revolutionized our understanding of their taxonomy, phylogeny and ecology. Today, research on the diversity of eukaryotes in global ecosystems heavily relies on nuclear ribosomal RNA (rRNA) markers. Here, we present the research community-curated reference database E...

Background A significant body of valuable data about the myxomycetes of Ukraine lies in a “grey zone”. This encompasses undigitised historical books and articles published in languages such as Polish, French or German, as well as proceedings from local conferences, articles featured in local scientific journals and annual reports submitted to publi...

As a result of the ten years (2012–2022) work under the critical revision of the genera of Reticulariaceae, a set of papers was published. Collection data of hundreds of specimens, used as a material for these studies, were provided as supplements of corresponding papers, but remained unpublished in biodiversity databases. Here, we represent an occ...

A significant body of valuable data about the myxomycetes of Ukraine lies in a “grey zone”. This encompasses undigitized historical books and articles published in languages such as Polish, French, or German, as well as proceedings from local conferences, articles featured in local scientific journals, and annual reports submitted to public authori...

Based on morphological characteristics and three molecular markers (18S rDNA, EF1A and ITS), we describe as new to science a dark-spored myxomycete, Lamproderma zonatopulchellum. The new species is morphologically similar to L. zonatum, sharing ovoid sporothecae and concentric zonate coloration on the peridium with the latter. However, the small sp...

Heinrich August Dietrich was a gardener with a deep interest in mycology. He published a two-volume monograph dealing with over 1,000 fungal and fungal-like taxa, the first cryptogamic research of this kind for the Baltic region. Between 1852 and 1857, H. A. Dietrich issued nine volumes of exciccatae named Centuria Plantarum Florae Balticae cryptog...

Pleurotus calyptratus is a wood-inhabiting oyster mushroom associated with Populus tremula and P. alba. This fungus is rather common in Ukraine, but considered rare in many other European countries. Aiming to find causes for variation in rarity, we conducted habitat mapping and repeated surveys to understand the substrate requirements and fruiting...

Since 1844, vouchers of mycological specimens collected from the territory of the historic Baltic provinces of the Russian Empire have been preserved in Estonian natural history collections. A pedagogue and an amateur bryologist, Gustav Carl Girgensohn (1786–1872) compiled a collection of 109 specimens of fungi and myxomycetes sampled from the Livo...

Taxonomic spectra, i.e. relations between supraspecific taxa by the number of included species, remain poorly understood in aspect of the mathematical properties. We studied taxonomic spectra of plants (Magnoliophyta, Bryophyta), animals (Coleoptera, Aves), fungi (Agaricomycetes) and terrestrial protists (Myxomycetes), found in the Homilsha Forests...

Here, we describe the taxon hypothesis (TH) paradigm, which covers the construction, identification, and communication of taxa as datasets. Defining taxa as datasets of individuals and their traits will make taxon identification and most importantly communication of taxa precise and reproducible. This will allow datasets with standardized and atomi...

Background Pleurotus calyptratus is a wood-inhabiting oyster mushroom which produces fruiting bodies on logs, stumps and branches of both dead and living Populus tremula and P. alba. Easily recognisable in the field fruit bodies and strict and steady fruiting period make this species an attractive model object for investigations of ecology of wood-...

The history of the myxomycetes research in Estonia dates back to the middle of the 19th century, with first data occurring in the H. A. Dietrich’s book published in 1856. The current work summarizes all the published reports of Estonian myxomycetes as well as some unpublished data and herbaria revisions. After the assessment of the taxonomic status...

Myxomycetes is the only group of macroscopic terrestrial organisms not yet represented in the Red Data Book of Ukraine, although their need in conservation is recognized internationally. Myxomycetes are included in a number of Red Data Books and Red Lists of different regions of the world, including IUCN official publications; special reserves and...

Two species of nivicolous myxomycetes, Lamproderma pseudomaculatum and Lamproderma aff. pulchellum, previously considered as strictly montane, are reported from the lowlands (116–192 m a.s.l.) of the eastern Ukraine during three spring seasons. Lowland collections of L. aff. pulchellum show comparatively low genetic similarity with specimens of thi...

Four methods of species delimitation were applied to 2 morphologically established ascomycete species: Sarcoscypha austriaca and Sarcoscypha coccinea. Results support the idea that the aforementioned are separate phylogenetic species

Aspen (Populus tremula) stands are usually considered by both forest managers and conservationists as a low-value, transitional forest type. This widespread tree thrives after forest damages (e.g. clear-cuttings, wildfires), resulting in a fact that forest management has become a main driver for aspen distribution in Eastern Europe. But are aspen s...

Fungi are widely used as surrogate species to evaluate and declare “conservational value” of forest areas in Europe (Helme et al., 2016). The same approach could be used in the North-Eastern Ukraine, where old-growth Quercus robur-dominated forests are one the most valuable habitats. Developing a set of umbrella and flagship species of fungi, chara...

BioDATA is an international project on developing skills in biodiversity data management and data publishing. Between 2018 and 2021, undergraduate and postgraduate students from Armenia, Belarus, Tajikistan, and Ukraine, have an opportunity to take part in the intensive courses to become certified professionals in biodiversity data management. They...

The modern data on the discomycetes diversity of Kharkiv Forest-Steppe are summarized. The checklist is based on the analysis of literature data starting from the middle XIX century, critical revision of materials from scientific herbarium CWU Myc and own studies performed in 2010-2017. The list includes 254 species of discomycetes belonging to 115...

The annotated checklist of fungi and fungus-like organisms, recorded in the Homilsha Forests National Park, Eastern Ukraine, is given. The list includes 1469 species and infraspecific taxa belonging to 10 Phyla of Fungi, Amoebozoa, Stramenopiles, Rhizaria and Discoba. For species studied by the authors of this checklist, names are accompanied by sp...

Seventy-seven species of myxomycetes were found in the oak and pine forests of the National Nature Park Slobozhanskiy (North-Eastern Ukraine). Among them, Arcyria imperialis, Didymium ovoideum, Lamproderma gulielmae, Trichia subfusca, Oligonema fulvum and Physarum spectabile are new for Ukraine. The specimen, preliminary identified as Arcyria cf. b...

As a result of the National Nature Park "Oleshkivski Pisky" microbiota study, 112 species of fungi and fungi-like protists were found: 18 species are slime molds, 1 – Zygomycota, 32 – Ascomycota and 61 – Basidiomycota representatives. Among them 14 species are fungicolous, 2 – myxomyceticulous and 1 – lichenicolous. Fungicolous species Hypomyces al...

The steppe morel, Morchella steppicola, is one of the more iconic species of true morels (Morchellaceae, Pezizales) based on its: 1) distinctive cerebriform pileus with densely packed labyrinthine irregular ridges, 2) genealogically exclusive position as the earliest diverging species lineage within the Esculenta clade, and 3) geographic distributi...

Non-lichenized ostropalean fungi have been poorly studied in Ukraine. The paper contains data on a new for Ukraine and worldwide rare species Schizoxylon centaureae Bres., found on the territory of Regional Landscape Park ‘Tiligulsky’. Characteristic features of this species include filiform spores, which disintegrate onto fragments, and its associ...

Eight species of discomycetous fungi found in the forests of the Kharkiv region for the first time in Ukraine are described: Dermea acerina (Peck) Rehm, Chlorencoelia versiformis (Pers.) J.R.Dixon, Arachnopeziza aurata Fuckel, Arachnopeziza obtusipila Grélet, Hyaloscypha intacta Svrček, Lachnum brevipilosum Baral, Pezizella vulgaris (Fr.) Sacc., an...

During the 2006–2008 summer–autumn seasons, the myxomycete biodiversity was investigated in Gomolsha Forests National Nature Park and neighbouring territories of the East Forest-Steppe area of Ukraine. Several earlier collections (2002-2004) were also reexamined. Four species found appeared to be new for Ukraine, six others were estimated as rare f...