Mitochondrial DNA Part B

Fungi are a distinct, diverse, and ecologically important branch of the tree of life. They colonize not only niches commonly associated with humans and human activities but also niches in extreme environments. In recent decades, due to the rapid advance of next-generation sequencing technology and compact structure of mitochondrial genomes, complete mitochondrial genome data of fungi have been increased and accumulated. Extensive sequencing of mitochondrial genomes has established meaningful and unique features in gene arrangements and genetic codes as well as nucleotide sequence substitutions, shedding light on enigmatic phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary histories in fungi.

Fungal diversity on the Earth is estimated to be as high as 2.2 to 3.8 million species, and approximately 150 thousand species have been described so far. These fungal species are currently classified into 20 phyla, 65 classes, 268 orders, 1038 families, and 10700 genera. Compared with the number of described species, we have not sequenced enough mtDNAs in fungi. Unexpectedly, the number of fungal species with available mitochondrial genome data (< 700) is even far lower than that with available nuclear genomes (> 4000), and they are highly biased toward Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Although most fungal mitochondrial genomes are unsurprising in their features, substantial variations may occur even among closely-related species. Research on less well-characterized, fast-evolving fungal lineages has unravelled a growing list of most unorthodox features. Therefore, mitochondrial genomes of more fungal species, especially those from poorly sampled lineages are highly expected. This article collection particularly welcome manuscripts reporting mitogenomes of non-Dikarya early-diverging fungi. For Dikarya species, we only consider manuscripts that will fill in gaps of available mitogenomes at family or above-family levels.

Topics of particular interest in this Article Collection include but are not limited to:

1. Mitochondrial genomes of fungi.
2. Mitochondrial transcriptomes of fungi.
3. Mitochondrial inheritance in fungi.
4. Population genetics of fungi employing mtDNA as molecular markers.

Mitochondrial DNA Part B accepts the following types of articles: Reviews, Method, Mitogenome Announcement, and Rapid Communication. You can find out more on the journal’s Instructions for Authors.

All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo desk assessment and peer-review as part of our standard editorial process. Guest Advisors will not be involved in peer-reviewing manuscripts unless they are an existing member of the Editorial Board.

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 31 December 2024.

Please contact Agnes Zhou at [email protected] with any queries regarding this Article Collection.

Instructions for AuthorsSubmit an Article