Fungi play vital roles in ecosystems as endophytes, pathogens and saprobes. The current estimate of fungal diversity is highly uncertain, ranging from 1.5 to 12 million, but only around 150,000 species have been named and classified to date. Since the introduction of DNA based methods for species identification, the number of newly described taxa has increased from approximately 1000 to around 2000

Taxonomy and phylogeny of poroid Hymenochaetaceae based on the most comprehensive phylogenetic analyses are presented. A phylogeny based on a combined dataset of ITS and nLSU sequences for accepted genera of Hymenochaetaceae was analyzed and two or multigene phylogenies for most species of ten large genera including Coltricia, Fomitiporella, Fomitiporia, Fulvifomes, Fuscoporia, Inonotus, Phylloporia

Asexually reproducing fungi play a significant role in essential processes in managed and wild ecosystems such as nutrients cycling and multitrophic interactions. A large number of such taxa are among the most notorious plant and animal pathogens. In addition, they have a key role in food production, biotechnology and medicine. Taxa without or rare sexual reproduction are distinguished based on their

Family Cortinariaceae currently includes only one genus, Cortinarius, which is the largest Agaricales genus, with thousands of species worldwide. The species are important ectomycorrhizal fungi and form associations with many vascular plant genera from tropicals to arctic regions. Genus Cortinarius contains a lot of morphological variation, and its complexity has led many taxonomists to specialize

Sexual reproduction is the basic way to form high genetic diversity and it is beneficial in evolution and speciation of fungi. The global diversity of teleomorphic species in Ascomycota has not been estimated. This paper estimates the species number for sexual ascomycetes based on five different estimation approaches, viz. by numbers of described fungi, by fungus:substrate ratio, by ecological distribution

Xylariomycetidae (Ascomycota) is a highly diversified group with variable stromatic characters. Our research focused on inconspicuous stromatic xylarialean taxa from China, Italy, Russia, Thailand and the United Kingdom. Detailed morphological descriptions, illustrations and combined ITS-LSU-rpb2-tub2-tef1 phylogenies revealed 39 taxa from our collections belonging to Amphisphaeriales and Xylariales

Fungi are eukaryotes that play essential roles in ecosystems. Among fungi, Basidiomycota is one of the major phyla with more than 40,000 described species. We review species diversity of Basidiomycota from five groups with different lifestyles or habitats: saprobic in grass/forest litter, wood-decaying, yeast-like, ectomycorrhizal, and plant parasitic. Case studies of Agaricus, Cantharellus, Ganoderma

This article is the 13th contribution in the Fungal Diversity Notes series, wherein 125 taxa from four phyla, ten classes, 31 orders, 69 families, 92 genera and three genera incertae sedis are treated, demonstrating worldwide and geographic distribution. Fungal taxa described and illustrated in the present study include three new genera, 69 new species, one new combination, one reference specimen and

Yeasts, usually defined as unicellular fungi, occur in various fungal lineages. Hence, they are not a taxonomic unit, but rather represent a fungal lifestyle shared by several unrelated lineages. Although the discovery of new yeast species occurs at an increasing speed, at the current rate it will likely take hundreds of years, if ever, before they will all be documented. Many parts of the earth, including

Fungi are highly important biotic components of terrestrial ecosystems, but we still have a very limited understanding about their diversity and distribution. This data article releases a global soil fungal dataset of the Global Soil Mycobiome consortium (GSMc) to boost further research in fungal diversity, biogeography and macroecology. The dataset comprises 722,682 fungal operational taxonomic units

The phlebioid clade (Polyporales, Basidiomycota) accommodates numerous species of corticioid and polyporoid fungi of the Phanerochaetaceae, Irpicaceae, and Meruliaceae. The present study used morphological and phylogenetic approaches to revise the generic classification of the phlebioid clade and survey species diversity. The phylogenetic analyses were performed using sequences of multiple genes, including

Sordariomycetes is an earlier-introduced and one of the widely distributed class of Ascomycota. The class was initially classified based on morphology in having inoperculate and unitunicate asci. With the development of DNA based phylogenetic analysis, several undetermined or polyphyletic members of Sordariomycetes were reclassified. However, not all species belonging to this class have been sequenced

The placement of the dothideomycetous family Teichosporaceae has been controversial. Recent phylogenetic investigations have used a taxonomic lumping approach with the Floricolaceae and its genera have been synonymized under the earlier family name, Teichosporaceae. Intergeneric relationships were therefore obscure and proper generic delimitation was needed in upcoming studies. We here taxonomically

Species delimitation is one of the most fundamental processes in biology. Biodiversity undertakings, for instance, require explicit species concepts and criteria for species delimitation in order to be relevant and translatable. However, a perfect species concept does not exist for Fungi. Here, we review the species concepts commonly used in Basidiomycota, the second largest phylum of Fungi that contains

The taxonomy of the genus Colletotrichum has undergone tremendous changes over the last decade, with over 200 species being currently recognised and species complexes being informally used to cluster those species. Many of these species are important plant pathogens, some rather polyphagous and others host-specific, but several occur seldomly and some may in fact be ecologically endangered. Based mainly

The increasing number of new fungal species described from all over the world along with the use of genetics to define taxa, has dramatically changed the classification system of early-diverging fungi over the past several decades. The number of phyla established for non-Dikarya fungi has increased from 2 to 17. However, to date, both the classification and phylogeny of the basal fungi are still unresolved

Rust fungi taxonomically belonging to Pucciniales (Basidiomycota) are important phytopathogens that cause many significant diseases to agricultural crops and forest trees. Hitherto, ca. 8000 and 1200 species have been reported from worldwide and China, respectively. To investigate and document the diversity of rust fungi in China, we have sampled from 86 natural reserves and national parks in the past

The species is one of the basic units of biological classification. Both species concepts and recognition are essential topics in taxonomic studies and other biological research. In the first part of this review, we briefly discuss the taxonomic history of the class Dothideomycetes. In the second part of the paper, we review four commonly used species concepts, focusing on morphological, ecological

Fungi have evolved diverse strategies to acquire nutrients as endophytes, saprobes, symbionts, or pathogens. Appressoria have been intensively studied due to their importance in attaching and breaching the host surface. These specialized infection structures have evolved into various morpho-types: proto-appressoria, hyaline appressoria, melanized (dark) appressoria, and compound appressoria. In this

Biodiversity loss from disturbances caused by human activities means that species are disappearing at an ever increasing rate. The high number of species that have yet to be described have generated extreme crisis to the taxonomist. Therefore, more than in any other era, effective ways to discover and delimitate species are needed. This paper reviews the historically foremost approaches used to delimit

Scientific names are crucial for communicating knowledge concerning fungi and fungus-like organisms. In plant pathology, they link information regarding biology, host range, distribution and potential risk to agriculture and food security. In the past, delimitation among pathogenic taxa was primarily based on morphological characteristics. Due to distinct species sharing overlapping characteristics

In plant pathology, the correct naming of a species is essential for determining the causal agents of disease. Species names not only serve the general purpose of concise communication, but also are critical for effective plant quarantine, preventing the introduction of new pathogens into a territory. Many phytopathogenic genera have multiple species and, in several genera, disagreements between the

This is the opening paper in the special issue of Fungal Diversity, which collates the data on defining species. Defining and recognizing species has long been a controversial issue. Since Darwin's proposed origin of species, over 30 species criteria have been brought forth and used to define species boundaries. In recent times, phylogenetic analyses based on multiple loci have been extensively used

Lichens are symbiotic associations resulting from interactions among fungi (primary and secondary mycobionts), algae and/or cyanobacteria (primary and secondary photobionts), and specific elements of the bacterial microbiome associated with the lichen thallus. The question of what is a species, both concerning the lichen as a whole and its main fungal component, the primary mycobiont, has faced many

Here we review how evolving species concepts have been applied to understand yeast diversity. Initially, a phenotypic species concept was utilized taking into consideration morphological aspects of colonies and cells, and growth profiles. Later the biological species concept was added, which applied data from mating experiments. Biophysical measurements of DNA similarity between isolates were an early

Rapid radiations in Fungi are only beginning to be studied with phylogenomic data. The evolutionary history of the lichenized fungal order Peltigerales has not been well resolved, particularly for the Collematineae. Here, we used concatenation and coalescent-based species tree methods to reconstruct the phylogeny of the Peltigerales based on sequences of 125 nuclear single-copy exon sequences among

This article provides descriptions and illustrations of microfungi associated with the leaf litter of Celtis formosana, Ficus ampelas, F. septica, Macaranga tanarius and Morus australis collected from Taiwan. These host species are native to the island and Celtis formosana is an endemic tree species. The study revealed 95 species, consisting of two new families (Cylindrohyalosporaceae and Oblongohyalosporaceae)

Colletotrichum is one of the most important plant pathogenic genera that is responsible for numerous diseases which can have a profound impact on the agricultural sector. Species delineation is difficult due to a lack of distinctive phenotypic variation. Therefore, in this study three different genomic approaches based on phylogenetic, evolutionary and coalescent-based methods are applied to establish

This is a multidimensional review of mangrove fungi occurring as saprobes, pathogens and endophytes of a wide range of host substrates and those isolated from the water columns and sediments in mangroves. Eight-hundred and fifty taxa including 658 that are supported by both morphology and molecular data and 192 with only morphological data are listed. These constitute Ascomycota, the dominant group

High-throughput DNA sequencing has dramatically transformed several areas of biodiversity research including mycology. Despite limitations, high-throughput sequencing is nowadays a predominant method to characterize the alpha and beta diversity of fungal communities. Across the papers utilizing high-throughput sequencing approaches to study natural habitats in terrestrial ecosystems worldwide, > 200

There were errors in the name of author László G. Nagy and in affiliation no. 31 in the original publication. The original article has been corrected.

Cancellidium is a remarkable fungal genus which has been collected from wood submerged in freshwater and has unique conidia that are important in dispersal in running streams. With such a remarkable morphology, one would have expected it to be a distinct family or order. However, due to the dearth of molecular evidence in related taxa, this genus has previously been placed in the order Hypocreales

Modern taxonomy has developed towards the establishment of global authoritative lists of species that assume the standardized principles of species recognition, at least in a given taxonomic group. However, in fungi, species delimitation is frequently subjective because it depends on the choice of a species concept and the criteria selected by a taxonomist. Contrary to it, identification of fungal

Hot desert regions are undoubtedly challenging to fungal survival on the Arabian Peninsula. Fungi are, however, recognized as the most stress-resistant organisms among all eukaryotes, which could be a result of the rapid evolution of distinct species. Our current understanding of these microorganisms is derived from studies examining only a fraction of the overall fungal diversity. Therefore, further

The cryptic lifestyle of most fungi necessitates molecular identification of the guild in environmental studies. Over the past decades, rapid development and affordability of molecular tools have tremendously improved insights of the fungal diversity in all ecosystems and habitats. Yet, in spite of the progress of molecular methods, knowledge about functional properties of the fungal taxa is vague

Freshwater Dothideomycetes are a highly diverse group of fungi, which are mostly saprobic in freshwater habitats worldwide. They are important decomposers of submerged woody debris and leaves in water. In this paper, we outline the genera of freshwater Dothideomycetes with notes and keys to species. Based on multigene analyses and morphology, we introduce nine new genera, viz. Aquimassariosphaeria

Numerous new taxa and classifications of Dothideomycetes have been published following the last monograph of families of Dothideomycetes in 2013. A recent publication by Honsanan et al. in 2020 expanded information of families in Dothideomycetidae and Pleosporomycetidae with modern classifications. In this paper, we provide a refined updated document on orders and families incertae sedis of Dothideomycetes

Species of the Trichophyton benhamiae complex are predominantly zoophilic pathogens with a worldwide distribution. These pathogens have recently become important due to their epidemic spread in pets and pet owners. Considerable genetic and phenotypic variability has been revealed in these emerging pathogens, but the species limits and host spectra have not been clearly elucidated. In this study, we

This is the twelfth contribution to the Fungal Diversity Notes series on fungal taxonomy, based on materials collected from many countries which were examined and described using the methods of morphology, anatomy, and strain culture, combined with DNA sequence analyses. 110 taxa are described and illustrated, including five new genera, 92 new species, eight new combinations and other taxonomic contributions

This is a continuation of a series focused on providing a stable platform for the taxonomy of phytopathogenic fungi and fungus-like organisms. This paper focuses on one family: Erysiphaceae and 24 phytopathogenic genera: Armillaria, Barriopsis, Cercospora, Cladosporium, Clinoconidium, Colletotrichum, Cylindrocladiella, Dothidotthia,, Fomitopsis, Ganoderma, Golovinomyces, Heterobasidium, Meliola, Mucor

Early efforts to classify Mortierellaceae were based on macro- and micromorphology, but sequencing and phylogenetic studies with ribosomal DNA (rDNA) markers have demonstrated conflicting taxonomic groupings and polyphyletic genera. Although some taxonomic confusion in the family has been clarified, rDNA data alone is unable to resolve higher level phylogenetic relationships within Mortierellaceae

So far approximately 144,000 species of fungi have been named but sequences of the majority of them do not exist in the public databases. Therefore, the quality and coverage of public barcode databases is a bottleneck that hinders the study of fungi. Cortinarius is the largest genus of Agaricales with thousands of species world-wide. The most diverse subgenus in Cortinarius is Telamonia and its species

The phylogeny and systematics of cordycipitoid fungi have been extensively studied in the last two decades. However, systematic positions of some taxa in the family Cordycipitaceae have not yet been thoroughly resolved. In this study, a new phylogenetic framework of Cordycipitaceae is reconstructed using multigene (nrSSU, nrLSU, tef-1α, rpb1 and rpb2) sequence data with large-scale taxon sampling.

The recent realistic estimate of fungal numbers which used various algorithms was between 2.2 and 3.8 million. There are nearly 100,000 accepted species of Fungi and fungus-like taxa, which is between 2.6 and 4.5% of the estimated species. Several forums such as Botanica Marina series, Fungal Diversity notes, Fungal Biodiversity Profiles, Fungal Systematics and Evolution—New and Interesting Fungi,

Molecular identification methods, in particular high-throughput sequencing tools, have greatly improved our knowledge about fungal diversity and biogeography, but many of the recovered taxa from natural environments cannot be identified to species or even higher taxonomic levels. This study addresses the phylogenetic placement of previously unrecognized fungal groups by using two complementary approaches:

Chaetothyriales is an ascomycetous order within Eurotiomycetes. The order is particularly known through the black yeasts and filamentous relatives that cause opportunistic infections in humans. All species in the order are consistently melanized. Ecology and habitats of species are highly diverse, and often rather extreme in terms of exposition and toxicity. Families are defined on the basis of evolutionary

Karst caves are characterized by darkness, low temperature, high humidity, and oligotrophic organisms due to its relatively closed and strongly zonal environments. Up to now, 1626 species in 644 genera of fungi have been reported from caves and mines worldwide. In this study, we investigated the culturable mycobiota in karst caves in southwest China. In total, 251 samples from thirteen caves were collected

The cosmopolitan plant genus Clematis contains many climbing species that can be found worldwide. The genus occurs in the wild and is grown commercially for horticulture. Microfungi on Clematis were collected from Belgium, China, Italy, Thailand and the UK. They are characterized by morphology and analyses of gene sequence data using an integrated species concept to validate identifications. The study

Fungi that are barely lichenized or non-lichenized and closely related to lichenized taxa, the so-called borderline fungi, are an important element in reconstructing the evolutionary history of lichenized lineages. Arthoniaceae is a prime example including non-lichenized, saprotrophic lineages which potentially were precursors to lichenized taxa. In this study, we focused on saprotrophic species of

Bipolaris species are important plant pathogens with a worldwide distribution in tropical and temperate environments. Species recognition in Bipolaris has been problematic due to a lack of molecular data from ex-type cultures, the use of few gene regions for species resolution and overlapping morphological characters. In this study, we evaluate the efficiency of different DNA barcodes in species delimitation

The Hypoxylaceae (Xylariales, Ascomycota) is a diverse family of mainly saprotrophic fungi, which commonly occur in angiosperm-dominated forests around the world. Despite their importance in forest and plant ecology as well as a prolific source of secondary metabolites and enzymes, genome sequences of related taxa are scarce and usually derived from environmental isolates. To address this lack of knowledge

Strigula sensu lato has been previously defined based on phenotype characters as a rather broad genus including tropical to temperate species growing on a wide array of substrata. In this study, based on a multilocus phylogenetic approach, we show that foliicolous species form six well-delimited clades that correlate with diagnostic phenotype features, including thallus morphology, carbonization of