Fungal taxonomy

Fungal taxonomy classifies fungi into named groups using shared traits and evolutionary relationships. It changes as evidence, especially DNA sequence data, reshapes hypotheses about fungal ancestry.

Biological taxonomy: The system of naming and classifying organisms into ranked groups. Fungal taxonomy applies this general system to the fungal kingdom.
Molecular phylogenetics: The reconstruction of evolutionary relationships by comparing DNA, RNA, or protein sequences. Sequence comparisons have repeatedly changed the boundaries and placement of fungal groups.
Carl Linnaeus: The Swedish naturalist who established binomial nomenclature and a foundational system of biological classification. His rank-based naming system shaped early classifications of fungi.
Chytridiomycota: A fungal phylum containing mostly aquatic or soil-dwelling fungi, many with motile zoospores. Its flagellated spores distinguish an early-diverging fungal lineage.
Fungal dark matter: The large fraction of fungal diversity known mainly from environmental DNA rather than described organisms. Undescribed lineages leave major gaps in fungal classification.
Fungi: A eukaryotic kingdom whose members absorb nutrients and include yeasts, molds, and mushrooms. This is the kingdom that fungal classifications divide into groups.
DNA barcoding: Species identification using a short, standardized DNA sequence from an organism. The fungal barcode helps distinguish species when visible traits are insufficient.
Elias Magnus Fries: A Swedish mycologist whose nineteenth-century work classified and named many fungi. His influential morphology-based system organized large portions of fungal diversity.
Mucoromycota: A fungal phylum including groups such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and many fast-growing molds. Its recognition reflects revised relationships among fungi once grouped as zygomycetes.
Environmental DNA sequencing: The analysis of genetic material collected directly from environmental samples. It reveals fungal lineages that cannot yet be matched to collected specimens.

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