An ancient fungus finally gets its genome read — a map for saving it

Agarikon is a rare, slow-growing fungus of old-growth forests, prized in traditional medicine for thousands of years and now endangered as its habitat shrinks. Scientists at Fungi Perfecti, including mycologist Paul Stamets, have published the first complete genome assembly for the species in the peer-reviewed journal G3 — a shared reference map that lets researchers identify populations reliably, track their health, and plan how to conserve them.