Phylogenetic Identification and Domestication of Wild Morchella Species from Fanjingshan, China

Morchella species are rare edible and medicinal fungi renowned for their high nutritional and economic value. Despite significant advances in phylogenetic and taxonomic studies, only Morchella sextelata , Morchella eximia , and Morchella importuna have been successfully domesticated for commercial cultivation, while other species remain recalcitrant to artificial fruiting. Fanjingshan, a national nature reserve located in the Wuling Mountains of China, features a subtropical monsoon mountain humid climate and remarkable biodiversity, yet no systematic investigation of Morchella species has been conducted in this region.From 2019 to 2024, thirty Morchella specimens were collected from Fanjingshan and identified using multilocus phylogenetic analyses combined with microscopic morphological observations. Domestication experiments were conducted using an open-field cultivation system with exogenous nutrient supplementation. Phylogenetic results revealed two species ( M. sextelata and Morchella diversa ) within the black clade, and five species ( Mes-12 [MMFJS25], Morchella. universitatis [MMFJS30], Morchella. montana [MMFJS07], Mes-22 [MMFJS27], and Mes-23 [MMFJS08]) within the yellow clade. Among the 30 tested isolates, three strains (MMFJS1, MMFJS15, and MMFJS16) successfully fruited, all belonging to M. diversa . After 18 days of inoculation, mycelia of M. diversa fully colonized the substrate and formed mycelial mats without sclerotia formation. When soil temperature decreased to 10°C after 85 days, white spherical or needle-like primordia developed into conical ascocarps with slender stipes and deeply pitted caps. The highest yield reached (800.89 ± 39.98) g·m⁻², meeting commercial production standards.This study represents the first systematic survey of Morchella species diversity in the Fanjingshan region and identifies M. diversa as a promising candidate for large-scale cultivation. Further research is warranted to evaluate its fruiting stability and ecological adaptability.