The history and application of molecular mycology

Abstract

It cannot be denied that recent developments in sophistication, availability and cost of molecular biology techniques have had a profound effect on mycology. The ready availability of DNA sequence data has led to major developments in the study of the systematics, biochemistry and ecology of fungi. The introduction of molecular techniques has allowed significant steps to be made in genomics, and in many areas of applied mycology molecular based approaches have become routine for strain characterisation, pathogen detection and identification. Molecular methods are now starting to give major insights into how fungi function in the environment, where they are present, and how they interact with associated organisms.