New bottles for old wine: fruit body types, phylogeny, and classification.
Molecular phylogenetic studies have made it evident that similar fruit body types, formerly the cornerstone of the classification of ascomycete and basidiomycete fungi, including those that form lichens, are often a result of convergent evolution. This commentary provides an introduction to this special issue of Mycological Research, which is based on papers presented at a one-day joint meeting of the British Mycological Society and the Natural History Museum held in London on 3 December 2005. The nine papers included address this issue in relation to its impact on classification, and also draw attention to the over-emphasis in fungal classification of ascus types and, in the case of lichen fungi, thallus form.
Hawksworth
David L
DL
Departamento de Biología Vegetal II, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Plaza Ramón y Cajal, Ciudad Universitaria, ES-28040 Madrid, Spain. d.hawksworth@nhm.ac.uk
Lagreca
Scott
S
D001203:Ascomycota / Q000145:classification* / Q000166:cytology*; D001487:Basidiomycota / Q000145:classification* / Q000166:cytology*; D048690:Fruiting Bodies, Fungal / Q000166:cytology*; D008011:Lichens / Q000145:classification / Q000166:cytology; D010802:Phylogeny