The proposed research by Drs. Manfred Binder and David Hibbett concerns the evolutionary relationships of Boletales, a diverse and ecologically important clade of mushroom-forming fungi (homobasidiomycetes). Systematics and ecological studies have been hampered by the lack of a comprehensive phylogenetic classification for the group. The proposed research will use a multi-gene analysis for 52 key species of Boletales and selected outgroups to resolve the major groups of Boletales. Sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) and the nuclear large subunit (nuc-lsu) of approximately 700 species sampled worldwide will be assembled into extensive datasets to generate a broad phylogenetic framework and to study character evolution.
This project will contribute to a global classification of the Boletales. The proposed research will provide resources for molecular ecologists and systematists, and will promote the discovery of new species of Boletales. A series of pages in the Tree of Life Web Project will be created for each of the major groups of Boletales to offer resources for a broad audience. In addition, this project will design and implement a four-week learning module on "Molecular Ecology and Systematics of Mycorrhizal fungi" for high school students, in collaboration with Minuteman Regional High School (Lexington, MA). This module will engage students in a discovery-based project that demonstrates the integration of molecular biology, organismal biology, and bioinformatics.
