MOLECULAR APPROACHES TO TAXONOMY OF FUNGI

In view of limitations of current techniques for identifying and classifying fungi, consideration is given to the potential taxonomic value of molecular analysis. Particular attention is paid to macromolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids, and other polymeric components of fungi. The advantages, though not all applicable to each method, of molecular analysis include the diversity of molecules and methods of analysis, the possibility of rapid analysis, restricted variability among isolates, relative insensitivity to environmental or morphogenetic changes, and application to fungi possessing few distinctive or reliable morphological characters. The view is expressed that macromolecular data will make greater contributions to fungal taxonomy in the future. They are unlikely to replace present criteria completely for several reasons. For some groups they may be no easier to apply. They do not solve the problem of delimitation of taxa, and considerable attention to standardization of techniques will be necessary. Perhaps the most important reason is that such data do not completely describe an organism or provide all the information we may wish a classification to contain. © 1969 The New York Botanical Garden.