Fungal taxonomy and sequence-based nomenclature

Nat Microbiol. 2021 May;6(5):540-548. doi: 10.1038/s41564-021-00888-x. Epub 2021 Apr 26.

Abstract

The identification and proper naming of microfungi, in particular plant, animal and human pathogens, remains challenging. Molecular identification is becoming the default approach for many fungal groups, and environmental metabarcoding is contributing an increasing amount of sequence data documenting fungal diversity on a global scale. This includes lineages represented only by sequence data. At present, these taxa cannot be formally described under the current nomenclature rules. By considering approaches used in bacterial taxonomy, we propose solutions for the nomenclature of taxa known only from sequences to facilitate consistent reporting and communication in the literature and public sequence repositories.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • DNA, Fungal / genetics
  • Environmental Microbiology
  • Fungi / classification*
  • Fungi / genetics
  • Fungi / isolation & purification*
  • Humans
  • Mycoses / microbiology
  • Plant Diseases / microbiology
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Terminology as Topic

Substances

  • DNA, Fungal