PEET: Monographic Approaches to the Laboulbeniales Subtribe Stigmatomycetinae and the Genus Stigmatomyces (Fungi, Ascomycota)

纽约州立大学环境科学与林业学院的Alex Weir博士获得了一笔赠款，用于修订Laboulbenimyctera纲的一个大亚族--Stigmatmycetinae的分类。这些不同寻常的真菌在活着的昆虫和其他节肢动物的外骨骼上产生子实体，被认为是地球上最多样化但研究最少的真菌群体之一。尽管最近发展了可靠的DNA提取和扩增方案，生态学家、进化生物学家和保护生物学家的关注也越来越多，但缺乏训练有素的研究人员意味着这些真菌的分类和鉴定仍然没有解决。这严重阻碍了将它们纳入更广泛的研究，例如那些侧重于评估生物多样性模式和寄生虫物种形成过程的研究。这一加强分类学专门知识的伙伴关系(PEET)项目的目标是：(1)培训几名新的唇形菌目系统学家，(2)解决一些主要的系统学问题，(3)制作一本全面的菌亚族专著(硬拷贝和在线论文)，以及(4)开发一个网站，向更广泛的生物界和普通公众提供关于唇形菌目生物学的信息。研究方法包括(1)使用高质量的光学和扫描电子显微镜检查微观特征和(2)获取分子DNA序列数据的双重方法。这些结果将被用来开发和测试关于链霉菌亚科内的谱系的假设。专题记述将发表在真菌学期刊上，并与由描述和插图支持的交互式识别密钥一起放在互联网上。

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Alex Weir of the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, to produce a revision of the classification of one large subtribe, Stigmatomycetinae, of the Class Laboulbeniomycetes. These unusual fungi produce fruiting bodies on the exoskeleton of living insects and other arthropods, and are thought to represent one of the most diverse, but least studied, groups of fungi on Earth. Despite the recent development of reliable DNA extraction and amplification protocols, and increased attention from ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and conservation biologists, the dearth of trained researchers has meant that the classification and identification of these fungi remains unresolved. This severely impedes their incorporation into broader studies such as those focused on assessment of biodiversity patterns, and parasite speciation processes. The objectives of this Partnership for Enhancing Expertise in taxonomy (PEET) project are to: (1) train several new Laboulbeniales systematists, (2) resolve some of the major systematics questions, (3) produce a comprehensive monograph of subtribe Stigmatomycetinae (in both hard copy and as an on-line treatise), and (4) develop a web site that will provide information on the biology of the Laboulbeniales to the broader biological community and the general public. The research methods involve a dual approach of (1) examination of microscopic characteristics using high-quality light and scanning electron microscopy, and (2) acquisition of molecular DNA sequence data. Results will be used in combination to develop and test hypotheses about lineages within the Stigmatomycetinae. Monographic accounts will be published in mycological journals and placed on the internet along with interactive identification keys supported by descriptions and illustrations.