ARS | Publication request: PHYLOGENY OF CHYTRID FUNGI INFERRED FROM NUCLEAR RIBOSOMAL GENE SEQUENCES

Submitted to: Inoculum
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: June 16, 1998
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: The Chytridiomycota include the orders Chytridiales, Spizellomycetales, Neocallimastigales, Monoblepharidales and Blastocladiales. Although the extreme morphological diversity of these zoosporic fungi has suggested a complex phylogeny, they have been neglected in the recent phylogenetic analyses made possible by the availability of molecular genetic techniques. Our preliminary analysis of ssurDNA sequences indicates that several chytrid lineages are closely related to separate zygomycete groups at the base of the kingdom Fungi. Although the Blastocladiales, Monoblepharidales and Neocallimastigales each appear to form monophyletic clades, we have found no support for a monophyletic clade consisting of all five chytrid orders. For the largest order, the Chytridiales, we will use the results of our analyses to evaluate phylogenetic hypotheses based on morphological traits, including operculation of the zoosporangium, type of thallus development, and zoospore ultrastructure.