Abstract Detail

Mycological Section

Spatafora, Joey [1], Benny, Gerald [2], Berbee, Mary [3], Bonito, Gregory [4], Corradi, Nicolas [5], Grigoriev, Igor [6], Gryganskyi, Andrii [7], James, Timothy [8], Kuo, Alan [9], Lazarus, Katy [2], O'Donnell, Kerry [10], Roberson, Robert [11], Smith, Matthew [12], Taylor, Thomas N. [13], Uehling, Jessie [14], Vilgalys, Rytas [15], White, Merlin [16], Stajich, Jason [17].

Phylogenomics of zygomycete fungi: impacts on a phylogenetic classification of Kingdom Fungi.

The zygomycetous fungi (”zygomycetes”) mark the major transition from zoosporic life histories of the common ancestor of Fungi and the earliest diverging chytrid lineages (Chytridiomycota and Blastocladiomycota). Their ecological and economic importance range from the earliest documented symbionts of the first land plants (e.g., arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi), to symbionts and pathogens of animals (e.g., “Trichomycetes”, Entomophthorales), to modern uses in industrial biology (e.g., fermentation by Rhizopus). Despite their importance, however, an accurate understanding of evolutionary relationships of “zygomycetes” lags behind that of Dikarya. To better document the diversity and evolution of “zygomycetes” we have initiated a large collaborative research project, Zygomycete Genealogy of Life (ZyGoLife) . ZyGoLife is building a phylogenomic framework to address questions in genomic and morphological evolution that pertain to the transition to the fungal phenotypes characteristic of terrestrial fungi. We are employing broad-scale genome and transcriptome sampling of zygomycete lineages including host-associated species, incorporation of fossil based dating, bioimaging of subcellular characters, improved tools for environmental sampling, and descriptions of these fungi in the Encyclopedia of Life. “Zygomycetes” have been classified both as a single monophyletic group (Zygomycota) and a series of unresolved, paraphyletic lineages (up to six subphyla). Genome data were used to evaluate the phylogenetic position of these lineages and to compare gene content and phylogenetic relationships among thousands of groups of orthologous genes with animal and zoosporic fungal outgroups and Dikarya. Initial sampling and phylogenetic analyses of more than 35 zygomycete genomes have provided substantial support for two monophyletic clades of “zygomycetes”: one comprising Entomophthoromycota, Kickxellomycotina, and Zoopagomycotina (EKZ clade) and the other consisting of Mortierellomycotina, Mucoromycotina, and Glomeromycota (MMG clade). Importantly, these results reject the recognition of a monophyletic “zygomycetes”. The primarily animal-associated and mycoparasitic EKZ clade is resolved as the earliest diverging lineage of “zygomycetes” and the primarily plant-associated MMG clade is resolved as sharing a more recent common ancestor with Dikarya. A phylogenetic classification of the MMG and EKZ clades will be discussed.

Related Links:
ZyGoLife

1 - Oregon State University, Botany and Plant Pathology, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA
2 - University of Florida, Gainsville, FL, USA
3 - University of British Columbia, Department of Botany, 6270 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC, V6T1Z4, CA
4 - Michigan St. University, East Lansing, MI, USA
5 - University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
6 - Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
7 - Lambert Spawn, Coatesville, PA, USA
8 - Univeristy of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
9 - Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA, U
10 - USDA Ag Research Station NCAUR, Peoria, IL, USA
11 - Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
12 - University Of Florida, Plant Pathology, PO Box 110680, Gainesville, FL, 32611-0680, USA
13 - University Of Kansas, Department Of Ecology And Evolutionary Biology, 1200 Sunnyside Avenue, Haworth Hall, Lawrence, KS, 66045-2106, USA
14 - Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
15 - Duke University, Department Of Botany, Box 90338, Durham, NC, 27708-0338, USA
16 - Boise St. University, Boise, ID, USA
17 - University of California, Riverside, Plant Pathology & Microbiology, 900 University Ave, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA, 9198272363

Keywords:
zygomycetes
phylogenomics
systematics
classification
Fungi.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 40
Location: Salon 1/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Tuesday, July 28th, 2015
Time: 10:45 AM
Number: 40003
Abstract ID:605
Candidate for Awards:None