Why is fungi closely related to animals

Placing organisms into categories is useful so that instead of describing a slew of characteristics, we can simply use broad categories as reference points to inform us not only about the nature of an individual, but also about its relationship to other similar organisms.

A new organism classified as a vertebrate, for example, will be commonly understood to have a spine composed of vertebrae. For scientists, taxonomic groups are touchstones of understanding: a foundation upon which to build new knowledge.

This metaphor communicates the fundamental importance of taxonomy, but it implies a stability that taxonomic classification lacks. Classifying fungi as plants has led to some curious events. This pairing of fungi with plants is a present problem: misclassification matters because how we classify organisms affects how we understand, support financially and culturally and engage with them.

Fungi are also the major cause of disease in agricultural crops, so understanding them also helps track and control these plant diseases. McLaughlin and his colleagues will continue their efforts to establish genetic relationships among fungi and to understand their roles in nature.

Additional structural studies, especially of key species, are needed to determine how the organisms adapted. McLaughlin is curator of fungi for the University of Minnesota Bell Museum of Natural History, past president of the national mycological society, and adviser to the state society. He has used his knowledge of fungi to identify species that may be useful to treat cancer and to preserve oak savannahs at Cedar Creek Natural History Area in central Minnesota.

Journal Nature. Gov't, Non-P. Research Support, U. Mitchell Sogin and his colleagues at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, used genetic sequencing techniques which were not available to give a more detailed view of complex organisms when Woese began his work. They studied ribosomal RNA sequences of many eukaryotes, including plants, animals, fungi and single-celled organisms. A statistical analysis of genetic similarity showed that plants were the first to diverge from a common stem, and that animals and fungi evolved later from a common ancestor, similar to modern single-celled eukaryotes known as choanoflagel-lates Science, vol , p