Molecular identification of Ganoderma lucidum from Iran

Medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum has been used in East Asia for centuries in order to prevent and treat a variety of diseases such as hepatitis, immunological disorders and cancers. In fact, this fungus contains a vast source of polysaccharides, proteins and secondary metabolites with anti-tumor and immuno-modulatory properties. Up to now, a variety of drug metabolites extracted from G. lucidum have reached the stage of commercial production. Recently, in addition to China, Korea and Japan, this valuable fungus has been identified in different parts of the world such as Pakistan, Malaysia and Turkey. In 2007, G. lucidum has been identified in northern forests of Iran; however, molecular identification of this fungus has not been reported yet. The aim of this study was, therefore, to identify this fungus collected from northern Iran by analyzing ITS-5.8S rDNA sequence. The result of this experiment confirmed that the collected specimen were G. lucidum.