g. Liu et al. 2009; Löytynoja and Goldman 2009) may contribute to the resolution of the major problematical nodes in the phylogeny of basidiomycetes and provide insight into its morphological, ecological and ML323 manufacturer functional evolution. For instance, genome-based analyses may well resolve the backbone of the Agaricomycotina phylogeny and elucidate the diversity and evolution of the white rot and brown rot wood-decaying modes and shifts among hosts. 3) Biogeographic inference   In comparison

to plant or animal biogeography, biogeography of fungi is at its very young stages. For instance, understanding of the role of long distance dispersal of spores in the maintenance of fungal species cohesion is in its infancy. Some data suggest that fungal spores are seldom dispersed for signaling pathway distances greater than 100 m indicating that despite rare long distance dispersal events, significant gene flow via spore dispersal even between islands within Hawaii is quite unlikely

(Bergemann and Miller 2002; Burnett 2003), while others suggests that a single fungal species can sustain appreciable gene flow across virtually global distributions (James et al. 2001; Petersen and Hughes 2007). Biogeographic studies in fungi were impeded by the poor knowledge concerning the accurate distribution of fungal species. Up to now, biogeography of diverse groups of basidiomycetes is still very speculative and is only supported by fragmentary observations. Studies based only on morphological characters may provide a very incomplete Dynein selleck and oversimplified picture of distribution patterns and associated historical events (Wu et al. 2000). Many intriguing morphological similarity based geographic distribution patterns, such as the well-known “Asa Gray disjunction” or a vicariance pattern in the Grayan distribution, and the Gondwanan distribution observed in the past (e.g. Horak 1983; Redhead 1989; Halling 2001; Mueller et al. 2001; Yang 2005b; Petersen and Hughes 2007), could well be inferred by molecular phylogenetic analyses in order to provide a much better understanding of their origin, historical biogeography and dispersal. A more detailed and accurate understanding

of the origin and evolution of a few selected groups of basidiomycetes have been revealed in the last few years, and are compelling areas for future research. For instance, through analyses of ITS and 26S rDNA sequences, and mt-ssu rDNA, Hibbett (2001) demonstrated that there are two main clades of the genus Lentinus, one in the New World, the other in the Old World. The Old World/New World disjunction could be due to fragmentation of an ancient Laurasian range. An alternative Gondwanan hypothesis is not supported by the molecular clock age estimates. Only one long distance dispersal event must be invoked in Lentinula, that being between Australia and New Zealand. Despite having airborne spores, long distance dispersal is rare in Lentinula. Aanen et al.