MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR PERSPECTIVES ON SYSTEMATICS OF THE HYPOCREALES

The ascomycetous order Hypocreales and its anamorphs include fungi of economic importance ranging from virulent plant pathogens to effective agents of biological control, and from producers of powerful antibiot ics to the sources of potent mycotoxins. In the last twenty years prog ress toward understanding the systematics of the Hypocreales has been made primarily through descriptive accounts of species within the comp lexes centered around the genera Hypocrea, Hypomyces and Nectria. Thro ugh a reexamination of type specimens, the number of genera in the Hyp ocreales has been reduced from over 200 to about 80. Careful study of hypocrealean fungi has revealed relationships among species that are b ased on suites of correlated characters including those of the anamorp h. These serve as the basis for newly revised generic concepts, partic ularly for those species previously classified as Nectria sensu late. Recent molecular studies have supported these generic concepts and pre sented new insights into traditional concepts of the order. Integratio n of teleomorphic-anamorphic taxa may be possible by combining results of morphological and molecular data.