This finding emerged after researchers analyzed 33 basidiomycete fungal genomes, 22 of which are wood decayers, four of which had been recently sequenced by the DOE JGI. Based on previously sequenced genomes, the team observed that two of the new fungi, Botryobasidium botryosum and Jaapia argillacea, had the cellulose-attacking enzymes characteristic of white rot fungi, but lacked PODs, making them similar to brown rot fungi. Applying a statistical process called Principal Components Analysis (PCA) to find similarities in fungi based on their plant biomass degrading genes, they found that the two new fungi grouped close to Phanerochaete chrysosporium, the first white rot species sequenced. This was a curious finding because the new fungi were phylogenetically distant from P. chrysosporium, and, moreover, didn't have PODs.