Molecular Systematic Study of the Boletales (Basidiomycetes)

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Dr. John Taylor and postdoctoral associate Dr. Thomas Bruns of the University of California at Berkeley will employ modern molecular techniques to investigate the evolutionary relationships among fungi of the order Boletales. They will study the mitochondrial gene order, construct restriction- endonuclease digestion-site maps of mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal RNA genes, and sequence selected ribosomal RNA genes. Preliminary results suggest that a much better understanding of phylogenetic relationships among these fungi can be achieved with these methods than has been realized to date by traditional morphological studies. This work is significant for several reasons. Many of the species to be studied are important ectomycorrhizal root symbionts of temperate-forest trees, and others are important wood-rotters. An understanding of the phylogeny of these fungi will provide insight into their pattern of coevolution with their plant hosts, and will provide a better understanding of the relationship between mycorrhizal symbionts and primary saprobes in the order. As currently defined, the Boletales contains several morphologically diverse groups of fungi, including false truffles, gilled mushrooms, and resupinate wood-rot fungi. Therefore, understanding of their phylogeny will provide a framework for testing theories about morphological trends in the basidiomycete fungi. Finally, the methods being used should prove applicable to evolutionary investigations in a wide range of other groups of fungi, and the gene-sequence data generated will add to a database which can eventually be used to study the evolutionary lines within the entire Basidiomycetes.