XVI International Botanical Congess

Systematic molecular analyses, focusing on nuclear ribosomal genes, provide striking insights into fungal evolution. Additionally, analyses of these genes in phylogenetic contexts provide insights into ribosomal DNA evolution. Studies on a diversity of fungi show that the supposedly conserved coding regions (SSU, LSU rDNA) contain variable or optional insertions and group I introns, while the highly-variable spacing regions (ITS) can be useful for supra-generic systematics. Given current knowledge, which data are most useful for assessing phylogenetic relationships within and between fungal symbionts? Why do cladograms, even those based on the same gene, vary, and is this variation significant? How can characters such as lifestyle be mapped onto cladograms? Syntheses of previous results provide tools for critical evaluation of methods and results of molecular systematics.