![]() Traditionally, fungal classification involves observation of macro- and micro-morphological characteristics, a task often complicated by inconsistencies and convergent morphologies. Fungal biodiversity is poorly understood. In exploring potential ecological and economic significance, identification and classification of fungi is an important first step. There is growing interest in developing the industrial and biotechnological potential of species that produce bioreactive enzymes or secondary products of medicinal or industrial significance. Various medicinal applications of mushrooms have been documented including managing heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and boosting immune function. Edible mushrooms have high nutritional value, being high in certain essential amino acids and low in cholesterol. Over 2,000 edible mushroom species have been characterized, although the number of species that have been commercialized is much smaller ( Table I). Fungi also have economic importance because of their application as nutritional foodstuffs and various medicinal and industrial uses. Candida sp., have been extensively characterized. Several fungi that are pathogenic in humans, e.g. Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes produce specialized macroscopic fruiting bodies called mushrooms in response to various environmental cues. Fungi reproduce by releasing spores generated either asexually or sexually. The vegetative bodies of fungi consist of a network of threadlike hyphae called a mycelium, which grows throughout a substrate such as soil, rotting wood, or living plant tissue. Fungi are typically divided into four phyla including Zygomycetes (bread molds), Chytridiomycetes (water molds), Ascomycetes (sac fungi), and Basidiomycetes (club fungi). Over 100,000 species of fungi have been described, and it is estimated that the total diversity of this group is well over 1 million. The fungi are a large and diverse group of heterotrophic eukaryotic microorganisms that play an important ecological role as decomposers. Students learn to apply a standard molecular method toward investigating phylogenetic relationships among fungi by conducting PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) 1 We have developed protocols for molecular phylogenetic analysis that are easily amenable to undergraduate courses in biotechnology or molecular biology. To be successful, the project-based approach requires laboratory methodologies that are dependable, versatile, and easy for students to use. This pedagogical strategy relies on self-motivation to drive student learning and allows students to apply their technical skills toward research questions developed from their own interests. In our biotechnology curriculum, we have designed project-based laboratories in which students work collaboratively in international research teams to develop multi-week research projects that provide the context for learning basic molecular technologies. Hands-on, investigative laboratories have been widely incorporated as highly successful learning activities in undergraduate molecular biology curricula.
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