REVSYS: Monographing a Model Clade of Ectomycorrhizal Fungi: Laccaria-Hydnangium

外生菌根真菌通过与多种树木形成有益的共生关系，在世界范围内的森林中发挥着重要的生态作用。这些共生真菌吸收和转移养分和水分到树上；同时，它们还减少了根部病原体的发生率。在这样做的过程中，它们会影响森林的组成和演替，其中某些真菌经常被用于重新造林项目。然而，关于形成外生菌根的真菌的生物学，许多基本问题仍然没有得到回答。在这种共生关系的研究中，落叶松属和水母属植物被广泛用作模式类群。在松科、壳斗科、罗汉果科和桉树占主导地位的森林中，这类物种通常构成真菌生物群的主要组成部分。一些树种已被广泛应用于实验温室和田间外生菌根研究。北美、欧洲和南美存在对漆树属的系统治疗，现在对该类群多样性和生物学的各个方面都有了相对较多的了解。然而，对来自澳大拉西亚的该种群的了解很少，缺乏鉴定工具和世界范围的分类方法，对海南紫胶菌种群生物学的进一步了解(例如，物种之间的关系和全球范围内的总体多样性、地理分布和寄主专一性)仍然停滞不前。该项目通过以下方式解决这些关键问题：(1)在澳大拉西亚进行实地工作，以完成生态多样性的采样，包括研究寄主树木的特殊性；(2)根据来自核糖体标记和单拷贝基因的DNA序列数据，制定物种关系的严格分类；(3)构建基于网络的物种识别检索表；以及(4)完成该群体的世界专著，该专著将以硬拷贝和网络形式提供。协作和培训是该项目的关键方面。一名博士后助理将参与该项目的所有方面，本科生实习生将在基于收藏的研究方面获得宝贵的经验。澳大利亚、新西兰和巴布亚新几内亚的合作者和他们的学生将参加实地工作。由此产生的专著将以硬拷贝和网络工具的形式出版，并带有与系统发展史相联系的图像和描述性数据。还将制作针对特定地理区域的硬拷贝快速参考资料(所谓的“RapidFungi野外指南”)和其他识别工具，因为这些工具对学生、公民科学家、公园护林员和生态旅游者来说很受欢迎和有用。这些数据将被整合到菲尔德博物馆专注于生物多样性的公共教育项目中；包括纳入博物馆的电子实地考察项目。

Ectomycorrhizal fungi play critical ecological roles in forests worldwide by forming beneficial symbiotic relationships with many kinds of trees. These symbiotic fungi absorb and transfer nutrients and water to the tree; as well, they reduce the incidence of root pathogens. In doing so they influence forest composition and succession, and certain of these fungi are routinely used in reforestation projects. However, many basic questions remain unanswered regarding the biology of the fungi that form ectomycorrhizae. Species of Laccaria and Hydnangium have been widely used as model taxa in research on this symbiotic relationship. Species in this group often form a major component of the fungal biota in forests dominated by Pinaceae, Fagaceae, Nothofagaceae, and Eucalyptus. Some species have been used extensively in experimental greenhouse and field studies of ectomycorrhizae. North American, European, and South American systematic treatments of Laccaria exist, and relatively much is now known about various aspects of the groups diversity and biology. However, knowledge of the group from Australasia is poor, identification tools and a world-wide taxonomic treatment do not exist, and further understanding of the biology of the Laccaria - Hydnangium group (e.g., relationships among species and overall diversity, geographic distribution, and host specificity on a global scale) remains stalled. This project address these critical questions by: (1) undertaking fieldwork in Australasia to complete sampling of ecological diversity, including studies of host tree specificity; (2) developing a rigorous classification of species relationships based upon DNA sequence data from both nuclear ribosomal markers and single-copy genes; (3) constructing web-based species-identification keys; and (4) completing a world monograph for the group that will be available in hard-copy and over the web. Collaboration and training are key aspects of this project. A postdoctoral associate will be involved with all aspects of the project, and the undergraduate student interns will gain valuable experience in collections-based research. Collaborators and their students in Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea will participate in field work. The resulting monograph will be produced both in hardcopy and as a web-based tool with images and descriptive data linked to the phylogeny. Hard copy quick references (so-called "rapidFungi field guides") and other identification tools for particular geographic regions will also be produced, as these are popular and useful for students, citizen scientists, park rangers, and ecotourists. The data will be integrated into public education programs at the Field Museum that focus on biodiversity; including inclusion in the museum's electronic field-trip program.