Abstract
Artificially cultivating Chroogomphus rutilus is too inefficient to be commercially feasible. Furthermore, isolating C. rutilus mycelia in the wild is difficult. Thus, it is important to determine the natural habitat of its fruiting body. This study focused on the ecology of the C. rutilus habitat to isolate and classify beneficial microorganisms that could affect its growth, which could be used in future research on artificial cultivation. In total, 342 isolates were isolated from soil samples collected around a C. rutilus colony in the Beijing region. Of these, 22 bacterial and 14 fungal isolates were selected for sequencing and phylogenetic analysis, based on their growth characteristics and colony morphology. Using 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the bacterial isolates were divided into two monophyletic clusters which had significant hits to the genera Bacillus and Pseudomonas, respectively. Using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis, fungal isolates were divided into four monophyletic clusters: Penicillium, Trichoderma, Mortierella, and Bionectria. Moreover, the phylogenetic diversity of these isolates was analysed. The results indicated that numerous microorganisms were present in C. rutilus habitat. This was the first reported examination of the microbiological ecology of C. rutilus.