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Title: SPECIES CONCEPTS, MOLECULAR SYSTEMATICS AND THE RAPID IDENTIFICATION OF TOXIGENIC HYPHOMYCETES

Author
item Peterson, Stephen

Submitted to: Toxic Microorganisms Symposium Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/19/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Molecular probes can be designed to uniquely recognize fungi at nearly any taxonomic level, from vegetative compatibility groups of Aspergillus flavus, to orders of fungi. The benefit that probes provide are 1) rapidity; 2) simplicity of application; and 3) amenability to automation for large scale identification projects. Molecular probes perform functions of strain identification that have historically been the purview of specialists who have in-depth knowledge of particular fungi groups. Automated strain identification will remove some of the more mundane labor from the specialist and allow more effort toward advancing the systematic knowledge of the group as a whole. Some genera have not been revised since before the advent of tools such as SEM, secondary metabolite profiles, fatty acid analysis, and ribosomal DNA sequence analysis. Systematic revisions and exploration of biodiversity will become imperative as we attempt probe identification of more and more fungal groups.