In the present project, comprehensive studies will be carried out through expeditions in the field, analyzing morphological and anatomical characters, studying multiple gene sequences and genetic differences in order to understand the species diversity and their evolutions of higher basidiomycetes in alipine and subalpine regions in southwestern China. Chemical constituents of bioactivties from higher fungi, including fruit-bodies and fermentations of cultures, will be selected and reselected by means of medicinal selection models such as anti-cancer model, anti-HIV model and other models. Compounds of strong bioactivities will be traced, isolated, puried and then structurely identified. Special attention will be focused on the evaluation on potential utilizations of such biocomponds, in order to find new and unique compounds of high bioactivity for further medicinal studies.

The project will provide insights on the biodiversity of the higher fungi, their distributions and differentiations in the regions. A number of new species will be described based both on morphological and molecular phylogenetic data. Evolution and speciation of 3-5 selected important or characterized species in the regions will be elucidated. Chemical compounds of 10-15 species of higher fungi will be studied intensively. A series of new compounds from the fungi will be isoloated, and their structure will be studied and identified. Among the compounds, some imortant ones will be evaluated in terms of medicinal effects. 1-2 international patents will be applied, and 1-2 key unique compounds can be generated for further medical study. Through this collaborative research, we try to develop us to be a team of prominent characteristics, strong innovation and competitive capacities in the field of biodiversity and chemistry of higher fungi in southwestern China.