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cultures, screening for optimal slides in ultrastructural
work, etc. In this context, the network of methodologies
is quite obvious, and was highly effective in studies of
fungi producing antibiotics, interacting as parasites with
their hosts, or as symbionts in the rhizosphere, in ba-
sidiolichens, and in insect associations.
We have carried out studies in systematics and phy-
logeny of major basidiomycetous lineages, starting
with taxa of the former „Heterobasidiomycetes“, rusts,
smuts, and all kinds of jelly fungi. Then we added non-
gilled and gilled Homobasidiomycetes, including gas-
teroid forms. These studies have contributed consider-
ably to an improved understanding of basidiomycete
phylogeny and evolution. Numerous species and gen-
era as well as families and orders have been introduced
by us and our collaborators. We have also studied the
morphology, ecology and phylogeny of some Ascomyc-
etes, including groups only known from asexual stages.
Our work on Oophyta started with saprobic ones but
quickly focussed on plant parasites of the downy mil-
dews, studying their micromorphologies, phylogenies
and coevolutionary trends.
Symptoms of a previously unknown forest decline
in Central Europe had a strong impact on our myco-
ecological work. We started studies on ectomycor-
rhizal systems in our native climax vegetations, i.e.
ectomycorrhizal vegetations, dominated by trees of the
Pinaceae, Fagaceae and Betulaceae. These studies
were extended to Taiwan and South Ecuador. Ecto-
mycorrhizal systems were established in the lab and
studied ontogenetically, ultrastructurally, and physi-
ologically. Finally, molecular identification and phylo-
genetic reconstructions became very important. Again,
these approaches underpin a rather effectiv networking
of methods in our lab. Extending our work to diverse
groups of land plants led us to studies in arbuscular,
ericoid, arbutoid, and orchid mycorrhizae. Also myco
thalli of liverworts, fungal endophytes in forest trees,
and microfungi of the rhizosphere and of soil ecosys-
tems were included in our research.
We were interested in basidiolichens over a long time.
Cellular constructions of basidiocarps, lichen thalli, and
fungus-alga interactions have been studied microsco
pically and ultrastructurally.
Autor
Prof. Dr. em. F
ranz
O
berwinkler
Universität Tübingen, Institut für Organismische Bota-
nik (ehemals Institut für Spezielle Botanik und Mykolo-
gie), Auf der Morgenstelle 1, 72076 Tübingen,
E-Mail:
