A multilocus phylogenetic study of the Teloschistales (Ascomycota) and the evolution of symbiotic systems

地衣是真菌与生活在其组织内的光合作用的绿藻和蓝藻之间非常成功的专属互惠共生。这种名为Teloschistales的亮橙色真菌是世界上最引人注目的地衣之一。最近重新定义的这组真菌包括近2000种被描述的物种，它们生活在各种各样的栖息地，包括人造底物的表面。这将是对这些色彩鲜艳的生物进行的第一次全球系统发育研究。这项研究的结果将有助于更好地了解这些真菌的多样性，并可能导致对新科的描述和对大多数属的重新定义。这项研究也将是对一种寻找遗传标记的新方法的实验测试，该方法可用于研究真菌和其他生物的进化模式。这项研究还将证明研究共生系统中涉及生殖的基因进化的重要性。除了培训一名女性博士后研究员和一名女性博士生外，在该拟议项目的第三年将组织一次研讨会，以在所有领先专家中就这些真菌的新分类系统达成全球共识。这一新的分类将由所有研讨会参与者共同编写，将是该项目对真菌生物学的长期贡献。

Lichens are highly successful obligate mutualistic symbioses between fungi and photosynthetic green algae and cyanobacteria that live within their tissues. Bright orange-colored species of the fungi in the group named Teloschistales are among the most noticeable lichens worldwide. This recently redefined group of fungi includes nearly 2,000 described species that live in wide variety of habitats, including surfaces of man-made substrates. This will be the first global phylogenetic study of these brightly colored organisms. The results of this study will lead to a better understanding of the diversity of these fungi, and will likely result in the description of new families and the re-definition of most genera. This study will also be an experimental test of a novel method of finding genetic markers that can be used to study patterns of evolution in fungi and other organisms. This study will also demonstrate the importance of studying the evolution of genes involved in reproduction in organisms living in symbiotic systems.In addition to the training of one female postdoctoral researcher and one female Ph.D. student, a workshop will be organized during year three of this proposed project to develop a worldwide consensus among all leading experts on a new system of classification for these fungi. This new classification, which will be co-authored by all workshop participants, will be a long-lasting contribution of this project to fungal biology.