DNA recovered and sequenced from an almost 7000 y-old Neolithic polypore, Daedaleopsis tricolor

Ten fragments of a wood-inhabiting polypore were found in the early Neolithic village of ‘La Marmotta’ (Anguillara Sabazia, Rome), formerly located on the shore of the Bracciano Lake. Five of these were found in three different huts, and two outside near other structures. Some fragments of the partly degraded specimens were used for DNA sequencing in order to the identity of the fungus, which proved to be Daedaleopsis tricolor. Pharmacological aspects of this and other previously discovered prehistoric polypores are also noted.