Skip to main content
Fig. 1 | IMA Fungus

Fig. 1

From: Unambiguous identification of fungi: where do we stand and how accurate and precise is fungal DNA barcoding?

Fig. 1

The diversity of Fungi and fungal-like organisms is staggering, with between 2.2 to 3.8 million species predicted (Hawksworth and Lücking 2018). Identification tools specifically tailored to each group are indispensable to deal with such richness. A–B, Oomycota; C–D, Mycetozoa; E, Mucoromycota; F–U, Ascomycota; V–AE, Basidiomycota. A, Albugo candida (on Capsella bursa-pastoris). B, Hyaloperonospora thlaspeos-perfoliati (on Microthlaspi erraticum); for Oomycota, COX1 and COX2 have been proposed as alternative DNA barcodes (Choi et al. 2015). C, Arcyria denudata. D, unidentified slime mold plasmodium; a portion of the nuSSU, in combination with COX1 and TEF1, has been shown to provide good resolution to delimit species (Schnittler et al. 2017). E, Phycomyces blakesleeanus (mating). F, Helicoma taenia (conidium). G, Sorokina caeruleogrisea (ascomata). H, Fusarium duofalcatisporum (conidia); secondary DNA barcodes, such as TEF1, have been proposed to delimit species in this plant-pathogenic genus (O'Donnell et al. 2015; Al-Hatmi et al. 2016; Xia et al. 2019). I, Placomaronea candelarioides (thallus). J, Xylaria polymorpha (stromata bearing ascomata). K, Rhytidhysteron columbiense (ascomata); this conspicuous saprotrophic genus contains numerous unrecognized species based on ITS (Soto-Medina and Lücking 2017). L, Neocosmospora vasinfecta (perithecia); this genus is one example of competing solutions to ranking clades in Fusarium s.lat. at genus level (Summerell 2019; Sandoval-Denis et al. 2019), a problem that is not resolvable by phylogeny alone (Lücking 2019), but which affects nomenclature of economically important fungi. M, Ophiocordyceps curculionum (stroma growing out of a weevil). N, Cookeina tricholoma (ascomata). O, basidiomycetous yeast (various members of Cystofilobasidiales) efflux on tree stump (Yurkov et al. 2020). P, Aspergillus sydowii (culture); fungi of this genus can cause aspergillosis in humans and are identified through a combination of DNA barcoding (TUB2) and high-resolution melting (HRM) assay (Fidler et al. 2017). Q, Pyrenula subpraelucida (ascospore). R, Pseudopestalotiopsis ixorae (conidium); this is another genus for which secondary DNA barcodes (TEF1, TUB2) have been proposed (Maharachchikumbura et al. 2012, 2014). S, Rhytisma acerinum (tar spot on Acer); recently, a separate, near-cryptic North American species was discovered integrating ITS and biological data (Hudler et al. 1998). T, Macgarvieomyces juncicola (conidiophore with conidia). U, Batistia annulipes (stromata). V, Thelephora terrestris (basidioma). W, Cora imi (thallus); until recently, this genus was believed to include a single species, but integrative taxonomy combining the ITS barcoding marker and morpho-anatomical and ecological characters recognizes nearly 200 (Lücking et al. 2014, 2017). X, Cyathus striatus (basidiomata). Y, Ramaria formosa (basidiomata). Z, Campanella caesia (basidiomata); based on ITS barcoding data, this presumably European taxon is subcosmopolitan, being also found in North America including Mexico, South America (Colombia; photograph), and Africa (Kenya). AA, Coprinellus disseminatus (basidiomata). AB, Aseroe rubra (basidioma). AC, Tremella mesenterica (basidioma). AD, Schizophyllum commune (basidiomata); this industrially important taxon includes geographically separated clades based on the IGS (James et al. 2001). AE. Amanita muscaria (basidioma); according to a three-marker study (ITS, nuLSU, TUB2; Geml et al. 2006), this well-known mushroom comprises several cryptic species

Back to article page