Advances in Phylogenetic Classification and Diversity of Anaerobic Fungi

Anaerobic fungi (Neocallimastigomycota) are common inhabitants of the digestive tract of mammalian herbivores, and play a key role in the degradation of lignocellulosic plant material. Understanding the phylogenetic relationship of individual anaerobic fungi will be essential to increasing understanding of their evolutionary history, and factors that drive their niche specialization within and between different types of hosts. In this review, the phylogenetic history, low-level taxonomic diversity, and related molecular techniques in previous study on anaerobic fungi are summarized, aiming to provide some support and reference for the related research work.