Dissertation Research: Systematic Investigations in the Basidiomycete Genus Coprinus Phylogeny, Character Evolution, and Development

系统发生系统学可以为进化提供很好的见解，但直到最近很少应用于真菌，因为传统的形态特征数量很少，并且被认为经常以趋同或平行的方式进化。随着分子方法的出现，产生独立的数据和现代系统的方法对所有类型的特征进行系统发育分析，在理解真菌的进化史方面取得进展成为可能。本研究的目的是为鸡属（Pers.:Fr.）建立一个广泛的系统发育系统。S.F. Gray和利用这种系统发育来研究真菌特征进化的方式。多个字符集将从形态学、分子和发育来源产生。通过对实验室培养的新鲜担子果、干燥担子果和活菌丝的宏观和微观特征的研究，得出其形态特征。限制性内切位点图、DNA序列和基因组织将构成分子特征。发育数据将包括对子实体薄片的观察。数据集将被一起或单独分析，使用分支学方法来确定一致的系统发育。然后通过将单个字符映射到一致的系统发育来研究字符进化。这项研究将会。阐明真菌形态和发育的进化模式，2。提供一个更好的理解，哪些真菌特征是信息性的，在系统发育的意义上，在什么分类水平，2。3 .提供一个重要真菌属的系统发育假说；作为进化研究的一个模型，通过整合多个数据集，通过一个分支框架进行分析。

Phylogenetic systematics can offer great insights into evolution but until recently has rarely been applied to fungi because traditional morphological characters are few in number and are thought to have often evolved in a convergent or parallel manner. With the advent of molecular methods to generate independent data and modern systematic approaches for phylogenetic analysis of all types of characters it has become possible to make progress in understanding the evolutionary history of fungi. The objectives of the proposed research are to produce a broad- scale phylogeny for the genus Coprinus (Pers.:Fr.) S.F. Gray and use this phylogeny to study the manner in which fungal characters have evolved. Multiple character sets will be generated from morphological, molecular, and developmental sources. Morphological characters will be drawn from the study of macro- and microscopic characters of fresh and dried basidiocarps and living mycelia grown in the laboratory. Restriction site maps, DNA sequences, and gene organization will constitute the molecular characters. Developmental data will consist of observations made on thin sections of fruitbodies. Data sets will be analyzed together and separately using cladistic methodologies to determine a consensus phylogeny. Character evolution will then be studied by individually mapping characters onto the consensus phylogeny. This research will 1. elucidate evolutionary patterns in fungal morphology and development, 2. provide a better understanding of which fungal characters are informative in a phylogenetic sense and at what taxonomic levels, 3. provide a phylogenetic hypothesis for an important genus of fungi, and 4. serve as a model for the study of evolution through the integration of multiple data sets analyzed through a cladistic framework.