Leucoagaricus and Leucocoprinus: Phylogeny and Classification of Litter Saprotrophs in the Agaricaceae

本文对白蘑菇属（Leucoagaricus）和白鬼伞属（Leucocoprinus）的分类和进化进行了研究。这些真菌与杂货店蘑菇密切相关，是世界各地原始森林中的垃圾分解者，新热带切叶蚁在地球上最古老的农业系统中种植它们作为食物。美国的许多物种仍然没有被描述，尽管它们数量丰富且分布广泛。将在加州、夏威夷、巴拿马和泰国对物种进行调查和描述，将开发识别工具，并将结果发表在科学期刊上。通过分子标记和系统发育分析，阐明伞菌科种与种之间的亲缘关系。分类学、分类和识别基础设施对生态学、保护生物学和农业等领域有着内在的影响。这里描述的工作将为一组重要的腐养生物提供识别工具，这些腐养生物通过碳循环直接与热带生态系统相互作用，并通过与经济影响巨大的阿丁蚂蚁的共生关系间接与新世界热带农业系统相互作用。对学生的培训将建立必要的人力资源，以推动这类工作进入未来，而与非专业公众的联系将扩大对基础科研的支持。

This study is focused on the taxonomy and evolution of the mushroom genera, Leucoagaricus and Leucocoprinus. These fungi, which are closely related to the grocery store mushroom, are litter decomposers in native forests throughout the world and neotropical leaf-cutter ants grow them for food in the oldest agricultural system on earth. Many species in the USA are still undescribed, despite being abundant and widespread. Species will be investigated and described in California, Hawai'i, Panama and Thailand, identification tools will be developed and results will be published in scientific journals. Relationships between species and positions in their family, the Agaricaceae, will be elucidated with molecular markers and phylogenetic analyses. Taxonomy, classification, and identification infrastructure have an intrinsic impact on fields such as ecology, conservation biology, and agriculture. The work described here will provide identification tools for an important group of saprotrophs that interact directly with tropical ecosystems via carbon cycling, and indirectly with new world tropical agricultural systems via their symbiosis with the attine ants, whose economic impact is huge. The training of students will build the human resources necessary to propel this type of work into the future, while outreach to the non-professional public will broaden support for basic scientific research.