Mycological Research News features : Second fungal genome sequenced; Gliocladium roseum belongs in Clonostachys; and fungi from coral reefs.

This issue contains 13 papers. The molecular phylogeny of the keratinophilic members of some Onygenales has been examined, with an emphasis on Auxarthron, a genus that proved to be monophyletic with nine species, while Amauroascus was polyphyeltic (pp. 388–396). Concern over oak decline in Europe has led to in-depth studies on Phytophthora species in oak forest soils which have been found to yield not only eight already recognized species, but three species new to science have also been discovered in the rhizosphere, one (P. uliginosa) being particularly aggressive in inoculation experiments (pp. 397–411); these have been compared anatomically, in culture, and by ITS sequence data and are illustrated in colour. The two macrolichens Usnea florida and U. subfloridana have long been regarded as related but differing in their reproductive methods, distributions, and air pollution sensitivity; analyses of rDNA and β-tubulin sequences, however, show that a single species is involved as they formed one monophyletic group with the specimens intermixed in the trees (pp. 412–418). In Phoma exigua, however, rDNA ITS sequences failed amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprint patterns showed clear clustering of most (pp. 419–427). AFLP's also prove to be a reliable tool for the identification of Alternaria brassicicola and indicate that there this apparently asexual species has a means of generating and maintaining genetic variation (pp. 428–434).