Fungal polysaccharides (PSs) are the subject of research in many fields of science and industry. Many properties of PSs have already been confirmed and the list of postulated functions continues to grow. Fungal PSs are classified into different groups according to systematic affinity, structure (linear and branched), sugar composition (homo- and heteropolysaccharides), type of bonds between the...

Fungi associated with photosynthetic organisms are major determinants of terrestrial biomass, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem productivity from the poles to the equator. Whereas most fungi are known because of their fruit bodies (e.g., saprotrophs), symptoms (e.g., pathogens), or emergent properties as symbionts (e.g., lichens), the majority of fungal diversity is thought to occur among species...

Nonribosomal peptides (NRPs) and polyketides (PKs) are ecologically important secondary metabolites produced by bacteria and fungi using multidomain enzymes called nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) and polyketide synthases (PKSs), respectively. Previous phylogenetic analyses of fungal NRPSs and PKSs have suggested that a few of these genes were acquired by fungi via horizontal gene trans...

BACKGROUND Our understanding of how fungi evolved to develop a variety of ecological niches, is limited but of fundamental biological importance. Specifically, the evolution of enzymes affects how well species can adapt to new environmental conditions. Feruloyl esterases (FAEs) are enzymes able to hydrolyze the ester bonds linking ferulic acid to plant cell wall polysaccharides. The diversity o...

Generally, stronger reproductive isolation is expected between sympatric than between allopatric sibling species. Such reproductive character displacement should predominantly affect premating reproductive isolation and can be due to several mechanisms, including population extinction, fusion of insufficiently isolated incipient species and reinforcement of reproductive isolation in response to...

Cenococcum is a genus of ectomycorrhizal Ascomycota that has a broad host range and geographic distribution. It is not known to produce either meiotic or mitotic spores and is known to exist only in the form of hyphae, sclerotia and host-colonized ectomycorrhizal root tips. Due to its lack of sexual and asexual spores and reproductive structures, it has proven difficult to incorporate into trad...