Diversity and systematics of cellulose-and keratin-degrading ascomycetes

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Lack of information concerning the phylogenetic relationships and diversity of fungi is acute, particularly within the Ascomycota, a group that includes the majority of economically important fungi. Ascomycetes have been enumerated and identified from many habitats, but studies documenting their diversity are limited by the selective nature of isolation media and the difficulty of accurately identifying these fungi. Many ascomycetes are not known to form sexual states and are defined on the basis of their asexual spore forms (anamorphs). Anamorphic fungi are typically simple anatomically and thus difficult to identify. Ascomycetes that form no spore stages in pure culture cannot be identified using microscopy-based techniques. However, the limitations of traditional methods for estimating fungal biodiversity and identifying anatomically simple or non-sporulating species can be circumvented by molecular techniques, particularly PCR (polymerase chain reaction) based methods.