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Knowing how organisms are related to each other is essential for solving problems that they cause especially regarding agriculturally important plant pathogens. The fungi are a diverse group of organisms, many of which cause diseases of crops or are used to control those diseases. Yet, relationships among fungi have not been clearly determined especially using molecular sequence data. In this research sequence data from two, three or four genes for about 210 species of fungi representing all groups were analyzed. The major groups of fungi are outlined with some new lineages revealed for the first time. The rust and smut fungi were determined to be completely separate lineages that are distinct from other basidiomycetes. This research will result in determining more accurately the relationships among plant pathogenic fungi. It will be used by mycologists, plant pathologists, and phylogeneticists who provide accurate scientific names of fungi and develop rapid molecular diagnostic tools.

Technical Abstract: The hierarchical network referred to as the tree of life provides a comparative and predictive framework essential to all fundamental and applied biology. With major theoretical and technical innovations in the fields of molecular biology and information technology, biologists are poised to contribute significantly to the continuous endeavor to infer the tree of life for the 1.75 million species known, and the many species yet to be discovered. This paper represents the first large-scale multi-locus phylogenetic study of the Fungi undertaken to reveal deep relationships among the more than 80,000 known species. The study provides a …