PHYLOGENY AND DATING OF SOME PATHOGENIC KERATINOPHILIC FUNGI USING SMALL-SUBUNIT RIBOSOMAL-RNA

The phylogenetic relationship of representative members of the genera Trichophyton, Microsporum and Epideromopyton was studied. 844 base pai rs were compared after sequencing the nuclear 18S ribosomal RNA gene s panning the most variable area within the central 600 bases of this ge ne. The dermatophytes, which are monophyletic in origin, could be clas sified most effectively when placed as a subgroup in the Onygenales, A scomycotina. The calculated radiation time was about 50 million years ago. The early cenozoic adaptive explosion of mammals, which can serve as a host for the keratinophilic fungi, provides corroboration for pr oximate co-evolution.