SVIMS is a sponsor of the BC MycoMap Project. Launched last fall, the project aims to bring our understanding of mushroom genomes in BC into the modern age. Crowdsourced databanks show that BC, up to the fall of 2025, had sequenced fewer than a thousand BC specimens for these public data sources. This represents only a few percent of the numbers from south of the border.
The first step in the project was to find a place to get BC fungal barcodes affordably sequenced. A partnership was set up with Mycota Lab in Michigan, and funds were raised to make the partnership possible. The second step was to collect specimens of BC mushrooms, with an emphasis on variety. Over a hundred BC mycoenthusiasts help to collect, dry, and submit these specimens. A remarkable 12,000 vouchers were assembled. These are being sent to Michigan in batches. (The collection project is ongoing, for those who want to help.)
Mycota Lab was able to rapidly sequence a first batch of several hundreds specimens. A group of BC “validators” (currently five people) began to examine and classify these sequences. In the second week of January 2026, the first 100+ sequences for MycoMap BC were posted to iNaturalist, along with their identifications. The observations can be browsed through this link. More are being added almost daily.
If you’re interested in learning more about these results and how they’re determined (what might be called “the back end of BC MycoMap”), you can join a Zoom talk on January 23rd. Here is the link to register.
