| Abstract Detail
Mycological Section Gazis, Romina [1], Smith, Stephen [2], Cranston, Karen [3], Brown, Joseph [2], Rees, Jonathan [3], Hibbett, David [1]. Fungi in the Open Tree of Life. Constructing a phylogenetic tree with all fungal species represents a Holy Grail of mycology. To this end, fungal systematists have gathered and analyzed morphological and molecular data for hundreds of thousands of species, yielding phylogenetic trees that have been reported in thousands of publications. However, these research products have never been combined into an accessible, comprehensive fungal tree of life, and complete phylogenies for large clades are rare. Challenges to constructing comprehensive phylogenies include computational requirements and low overlap in the molecular markers used among phylogenetic studies. In the absence of phylogenetic knowledge, taxonomic information can provide a species hierarchy that can be combined with trees based on molecular analyses. By using taxonomy as backbone and resolving shallower relationships among taxa with phylogenies, we can detect areas in the tree where taxonomic revisions are needed. As part of the Open Tree of Life project (http://blog.opentreeoflife.org/), we are working toward a draft of the most comprehensive fungal tree to date, by combining phylogenetic and taxonomic sources. While this tree is far from complete, it is an important first step to a comprehensive fungal tree of life that can be updated and will provide a foundation for comparative mycology.
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1 - Clark University, Biology, 950 Main Street, Worcester, MA, 01610, USA
2 - University of Michigan, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 830 North University, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
3 - Duke University, National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, 2024 W. Main St , A200, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
Keywords:
Phylogenetics
Fungal Tree of Life
systematics.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 74
Location: Salon 1/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Wednesday, July 29th, 2015
Time: 3:45 PM
Number: 74001
Abstract ID:845
Candidate for Awards:None |
