MOLECULAR PHYLOGENY AND TAXONOMY OF MEDICALLY IMPORTANT FUNGI

Some recent advances in study of molecular evolution and taxonomy of h uman pathogens are discussed. In systemic Onygenales as well as in Cha etothyriales, pathogenic species are phylogenetically intermingled wit h non-pathogenic taxa. When a teleomorph of Coccidioides immitis is ev entually found, it is predicted to resemble Uncinocarpus, a genus othe rwise comprising environmental species. In the dermatophytes, Trichoph yton and Microsporum are paraphyletic, whereas Epidermophyton is polyp hyletic. On the basis of 18S and ITS rDNA sequencing data, Exophiala a namorphs (black yeasts) are confirmed to be closely related to the asc omycete genus Capronia. The related neurotropic species Cladophialopho ra bantiana is remarkable in consistently having introns in its 18S rD NA gene.