Diversity, identity and ecological role of a novel fungal super clade

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A large proportion of the diversity of life is microbial. Microbes are important components of every ecosystem and natural environment on Earth, yet our understanding of microbial diversity and ecological roles is still in its infancy. In the last 15 years, molecular methods have been used which target the DNA of all microbes present in a particular environment. These methods enable the capture of sub-sections of each microbial genome for use as an identifying code. We can then use these fragments of DNA code to identify most of the organisms present in any environment. This approach has massively expanded our appreciation of the diversity of life on Earth. Such approaches have revealed a diverse and mysterious group of organisms present in a range of aquatic environments that appear to be entirely novel and previously uninvestigated. Analyses suggest that one such diverse group could be related to the Fungi. The Fungi include the well-known mushrooms and yeasts but also a massive range of microbes responsible for recycling biomass in many ecosystems. Given the diversity and extensive distribution of this microbial group in aquatic environments around the globe it is likely that the group represents an important part of the microbial community. In addition, this group has a very novel position in the tree of life with respect to known fungal microbes. Therefore a greater appreciation of their biology will provide important data for understanding the evolutionary diversification of the fungal kingdom and their close relatives the animals. We plan to use specific probes with fluorescence to identify, describe and investigate the ecological role of this novel group from a range of environmental samples. This approach will enable us to observe the nature of these microbial cells and their abundance and role within different habitat types.