Evolutionary Biology of the Fungi

About this book

The fungi represent superb tools for the study of evolution 'in action' This 1987 book was the first to bring together, in one volume, coverage of the growing consensus of knowledge and ideas concerning evolutionary biology of the fungi in the widest sense. It draws, not only upon the impetus given to the field by the molecular approaches of the time, but also on the wider technical and philosophical issues raised in the search for evolutionary pattern in fungal life styles, fungal populations and at the phylogenetic level. This fascinating text will continue to interest mycologists and evolutionary biologists.

Contents

List of contributors; Preface; 1. Aspects of the macro- and micro-evolution of the fungi Sir John H. Burnett; 2. Structural variation and expression of fungal chromosomal genes G. Turner and D. James Ballance; 3. Chromosome organisation and genome evolution in yeast S. G. Oliver; 4. The natural history of fungal mitochondrial genomes C. Scazzocchio; 5. Varying patterns of ribosomal RNA gene organisation in basidiomycetes Patricia J. Pukkila and Jeane R. Cassidy; 6. Molecular variation and evolution John A. Barrtett; 7. Fungal chromosomes as observed with the light microscope Eva R. Sansome; 8. Regulation of mycelial organisation and responses A. D. M. Rayner and D. Coates; 9. Saprotrophy, stress and symbiosis R. C. Cooke and J. M. Whipps; 10. Evolution of parasitism in the fungi Michele C. Heath; 11. Evolutionary aspects of mutalistic assocations between fungi and photosynthetic organisms David H. Lewis; 12. The veolution and adaptation of sexual reproductive structures in the Ascomucotina D. L. Hawksworth; 13. Convergent evolution and the functional significance of spore shape in aquatic and semi-aquatic fungi John Webster; 14. Genetic exchange and gene flow: their promotion and prevention Michael J. Carlile; 15. The genetic integration of fungal life styles C. E. Caten; 16. The dynamics of fungal speciation C. M. Brasier; 17. Mating ability and the species concept in the Zygomycetes M. A. A. Schipper; 18. Reproductive biology and speciation in Mycomycetes O'N. R. Collins; 19. Occurence and interactions of outcrossing and non-outcrossing populations in Stereum, Phanerochaete and Coniophora A. M. Ainsworth; 20. Breeding units in the forest pathogens Armillaria and Heterobasidion Kari Korhonen; 21. Genetic variation and evolution in Aspergillus J. H. Croft; 22. Speciation in Phytophthora: evidence from the Phytophthora megasperma complex Everett M. Hansen; 23. The origin of Fungi and pseudofungi Tom Cavalier-Smith; 24. Yeasts and anastomoses: their occurence and implications for the phylogeny of Eumycota H. Prillinger; 25. Whither terminology below the species level in the fungi? C. M. Brasier and A. D. M. Rayner; 26. The cell wall: a crucial structure in fungal evolution S. Bartnicki-Garcia; 27. Oomycete phylogeny: ultrastructural perspectives G. W. Beakes; 28. Xylariaceous fungi: use of secondary metabolytes A. J. S. Whalley and R. L. Edwards; 29. Whence cometh the agarics? A reappraisal O. K. Miller Jr. and Roy Watling; Index.

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