| Abstract Detail
MSA - Systematics/Evolution Perry, Brian [1], Desjardin, Dennis [1], Moncalvo, Jean-Marc [2]. Evolution of Bioluminescence within the Euagarics. Bioluminescence, the emission of light by living organisms, is known to occur in many distantly related phyla, including Fungi. Although written observations of the phenomenon are reported to date to Aristotle (384-322 BCE) and Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE), we know surprisingly little regarding the nature of the chemical pathways responsible for fungal bioluminescence, and how or why bioluminescence has evolved within the fungi. All documented species of luminescent fungi are euagaric, white rot taxa from the genera Armillaria, Omphalotus (incl. Lampteromyces), Neonothopanus, Mycena and allied mycenoid genera. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies resolve these bioluminescent taxa in three distinct clades, suggesting several independent derivations of the luminescent pathway. Our research focuses on the systematics and evolution of Mycena and allied genera, and has greatly expanded upon bioluminescent taxa sampled for molecular sequence data. Using a multi-gene approach (rpb2, tef1, 25S rDNA), we are investigating the evolution of bioluminescence within the euagarics. Preliminary results indicate the presence of at least four distinct lineages containing bioluminescent taxa. Ancestral state reconstruction methods are being employed to infer the presence or absence of bioluminescence at nodes of significance within the phylogenetic hypotheses. Within our broad sampling of Mycenaceae, preliminary reconstructions suggest the presence of bioluminescence at the node giving rise to Mycena sensu stricto, suggesting the loss of luminescence in multiple taxa. Results for analyses of the euagarics will be presented and discussed.
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1 - San Francisco State University, Department of Biology, 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94132, United States
2 - Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen\'s Park, Toronto, ON, M5S 2C6, Canada
Keywords:
mycenoid
bioluminescence
Mycena.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 26
Location: Cottonwood D/Snowbird Center
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2009
Time: 2:45 PM
Number: 26006
Abstract ID:339 |
