Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Lack of information concerning the phylogenetic relationships and diversity of fungi is acute, particularly within the Ascomycota, a group that includes the majority of economically important fungi. Ascomycetes have been enumerated and identified from many habitats, but studies documenting their diversity are limited by the selective nature of isolation media and the difficulty of accurately identifying these fungi. Many ascomycetes are not known to form sexual states and are defined on the basis of their asexual spore forms (anamorphs). Anamorphic fungi are typically simple anatomically and thus difficult to identify. Ascomycetes that form no spore stages in pure culture cannot be identified using microscopy-based techniques. However, the limitations of traditional methods for estimating fungal biodiversity and identifying anatomically simple or non-sporulating species can be circumvented by molecular techniques, particularly PCR (polymerase chain reaction) based methods. The proposed program of research will examine the diversity and systematics of structurally simple, cellulose- and keratin-degrading ascomycetes belonging to the Chaetomiaceae and Onygenales through culturing, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and DNA sequencing. Study of the diversity of the Onygenales will focus on the members of this order found in arctic soils. Documentation of this fungal community will improve our understanding of arctic fungal biodiversity and result in the discovery and descriptions of new species. Studies aimed at estimating the fungal diversity from poorly inventoried regions in northern Manitoba may also identify habitats in need of protection or provide the impetus for a future total fungal inventory of a single Canadian site or ecozone. The generation of molecular and non-molecular datasets will contribute to efforts to construct more comprehensive phylogenies for the Chaetomiaceae and Onygenales that will ultimately facilitate the discovery and identification of these ascomycetes in complex communities.