OPUS: Phylogenetic synthesis of the mushroom group, Agaricomycotina

Clark University, Worcester MA

Investigators

Abstract

Most mushrooms are classified in the fungal group Agaricomycotina, comprising about 22,000 described species. Members of the Agaricomycotina have profound impacts on the functioning of ecosystems through their activities as decayers, pathogens, and beneficial symbionts. Researchers who study members of the Agaricomycotina include medical mycologists, plant pathologists, biofuels researchers, ecologists, and evolutionary biologists. However, such activities are often hampered by the lack of a coherent evolutionary and taxonomic framework for Agaricomycotina. In addition to professional scientists, many members of the public are interested in mushrooms, which they may collect for food, dyes, or as art objects. Amateur mycologists use field guides that are organized according to the physical forms of the mushrooms (e.g., gilled mushroom, polypores, coral fungi, etc.), but these often do not reflect evolutionary relationships. Consequently, amateur mycologists fail to appreciate the genealogical groupings of Agaricomycotina, or the rationale for taxonomic name changes when they occur. In this project, 25 years of work on the Agaricomycotina will be synthesized to produce two books on the subject. One will be a technical publication on "Systematics of Agaricomycotina" for professional scientists and graduate students. "Systematics of Agaricomycotina" will enable scientists from diverse backgrounds to gain an overview of the diversity and evolutionary relationships of mushroom-forming fungi, and promote comparative perspectives in basic and applied fungal science. The other book will be a popular text, titled "Mushrooms in the Tree of Life" for amateur mycologists. "Mushrooms in the Tree of Life" will show how evolutionary trees are estimated and help amateur mycologists make connections between field guides and the technical literature in fungal systematics. This work will result in a comprehensive scientific summary text and a popular text for the public. The first, entitled "Systematics of Agaricomycotina", will include five chapters on general topics, including (1) History of phylogenetics of Agaricomycotina; (2) Overview of phylogeny and diversity of Agaricomycotina; (3) Character bases of systematics of Agaricomycotina; (4) Morphological and developmental evolution in Agaricomycotina; and (5) Ecological diversity and evolution of nutritional modes in Agaricomycotina; as well as eleven chapters (6-16) describing individual groups of Agaricomycotina. The popular text, "Mushrooms in the Tree of Life," will be organized in three parts: (1) "Reconstructing the tree of life", which will contain a concise primer of fungal phylogenetics, with minimal jargon; (2) "Mushrooms in the tree of life", which will present a higher-level phylogenetic framework for mushroom-forming fungi, emphasizing groups that are familiar to amateur mycologists; and (3) "Stories from the tree of life", which will contain a series of evolutionary vignettes about mushrooms, illustrating historical narratives that can only be addressed with a phylogenetic perspective.