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Isolation, Behavioral Identification, and Pathogenicity Assessment of Entomopathogenic Fungi from a Forest Wood Borer

Isolation, Behavioral Identification, and Pathogenicity Assessment of Entomopathogenic Fungi from a Forest Wood Borer

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A consistent phylogenetic backbone for the fungi.

Ingo Ebersberger¹, Ricardo de Matos Simoes, Anne Kupczok

¹Center for Integrative Bioinformatics Vienna, University of Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria. ingo.ebersberger@univie.ac.at

Molecular Biology and Evolution

|November 25, 2011

Summary

Resolving fungal phylogeny is crucial for integrating biological research. This study uses phylogenomics and a consistency criterion to stabilize the fungal tree of life, revealing biases in expressed sequence tag data.

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Area of Science:

Mycology
Evolutionary Biology
Genomics

Background:

Fungal species are vital model organisms across various scientific disciplines.
Accurate phylogenetic relationships are essential for a cohesive understanding of fungal biology.
Despite advancements, deep evolutionary relationships within fungi remain incompletely resolved.

Purpose of the Study:

To establish a stable and comprehensive phylogenetic framework for the kingdom Fungi.
To investigate the reliability of phylogenetic conclusions using a consistency criterion across independent datasets and methods.
To identify potential biases introduced by specific data types in phylogenomic analyses.

Main Methods:

Conducted the first phylogenomic study of an entire eukaryotic kingdom using a consistency criterion.
Analyzed two complementary phylogenomic datasets (99 fungal genomes, 109 fungal expressed sequence tag sets) with four tree reconstruction methods.
Utilized eleven additional datasets to clarify the phylogenetic positions of specific fungal groups (Blastocladiomycota, Ustilaginomycotina, Dothideomycetes).

Main Results:

The combined evidence strongly supports deep-level stability within fungal groups, advancing a natural system for fungi.
Phylogenomic analysis using complementary datasets and multiple methods confirmed robust evolutionary relationships.
Expressed sequence tag (EST) data enrichment introduces bias towards slowly evolving, functionally correlated genes, impacting tree reconstruction.

Conclusions:

The study provides a robust fungal tree of life, integrating diverse research findings.
A consistency criterion strengthens phylogenetic conclusions by corroborating results from independent data and methods.
Phylogenomic datasets require thorough characterization to mitigate biases, particularly from EST data, ensuring reliable evolutionary inferences.