Evolution of Fungi and Fungal-Like Organisms

Sequence analyses of numerous fungal genomes over the past two decades have provided us with extensive insights into the phylogenetic relationships of fungi and the distribution of genes and their inferred functions, across the fungal kingdom. It is now possible to answer questions about the origin of the fungal kingdom and fungal evolution with an analytical precision that was not possible before.This fully revised and updated 2nd edition of The Mycota, Vol. 14, addresses major aspects of fungal evolution. The book is divided into four sections covering the following main topics:

. Evolutionary roots of fungi . Evolution of pathogenic strategies . Evolution of mutualistic interactions . Evolution of metabolism and development in fungi

Fungi are among the oldest eukaryotic groups in the living world. The aim of this book is to better understand the history and importance of fungi, as well as the characteristics that distinguish them from their sister group, the metazoans, and other fungus-like groups such as the slime molds and oomycetes. Many fungal species are important pathogens of animals and plants and have distinct but parallel pathogenicity strategies. Mutualistic interactions of fungi with other organisms are crucial for their survival in different ecological niches and have a great influence on their evolution and the design of their genomes. Metabolism is one of the most important features of life, and the diversity of metabolic processes is best understood by considering evolution. Studies of fungal metabolism have traditionally focused on metabolites of particular interest, namely mycotoxins, pathogenicity factors, antibiotics, and other compounds with interspecific activity.

This volume will be of great interest to mycologists, evolutionary biologists, and fungal geneticists, as well as to lecturers and students of microbiology and mycology.

Auteur

Stefanie Pöggeler (born 1963) studied Biology at the Ruhr-Universität in Bochum (Germany). In 1993, she graduated with a thesis on intron-encoded polypeptides in plastids and mitochondria under the supervision of Prof. Ulrich Kück. She later on completed her "Habilitation" at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum in 2000 and was awarded the Venia Legendi in Botany. Between 2001 and 2003 she had a stand-in assistant professorship in Botany at the Wilhelms Universität in Münster (Germany). In 2006 she was appointed as professor for Genetics of Eukaryotic Microorganisms at the Georg-August Universität Göttingen (Germany). Her work is focused on the analysis of mating type genes and autophagy in sexual development of filamentous ascomycetes. In a second line of research, she is interested in the evolution of fungal inteins.

Timothy Y. James (born 1973) studied Biology at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina (United States of America) in thelab of Prof. Rytas Vilgalys. He graduate in 2003 with a thesis on the evolution of mating-type genes in mushroom forming fungi. He completed postdoctoral fellowships at Duke University, Uppsala University (Sweden), and McMaster University (Canada) before starting as an assistant professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan (U.S.A.). He is the Curator of Fungi at the University of Michigan Fungarium (MICH) and is the Lewis E. Wehmeyer and Elaine Prince Wehmeyer Chair in Fungal Taxonomy. His work is focused on resolving the fungal tree of life, in particular discovering the hidden phylogenetic diversity of the tree by analysis of zoosporic and unculturable lineages of fungi. He is also interested in the evolution of ploidy and mitotic recombination.