Evolutionary building lots on Ustilaginomycotina

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Oliver Bossdorf, Ph.D., since 8/2015
• Subject Area: Evolution and Systematics of Plants and Fungi
• Term: from 2013 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 248376473

In the past two decades we established a new system of Ustilaginomycotina (ustilaginoid smut fungi and relatives), which by now is accepted universally. Moreover, this system gave rise to three new, continuative hypotheses whose verification will significantly influence the evolutionary perspective on the taxon Fungi at different taxonomical levels. With this project we want to tackle these hypotheses using morphological, ultrastructural and molecular phylogenetic analyses. The hypotheses to be tested are: (a) besides Glomeromycota, Ascomycota and Basidiomycota the Entorrhizales represent an independent evolutionary lineage as a missing link between the Glomeromycota and Dikarya, (b) the so-called gymnosperm smuts of the genus Uleiella represent an independent evolutionary lineage within the Basidiomycota, besides the Pucciniomycotina, Ustilaginomycotina and Agaricomycotina and (c) the Ceraceosorales represent the most ancestral evolutionary lineage of Ustilaginomycotina.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemalige Antragsteller: Privatdozent Dr. Robert Bauer, until 9/2014 (†); Dr. Sigisfredo Garnica, from 9/2014 until 7/2015