IMA Fungus 9(1): 177-183, doi: 10.5598/imafungus.2018.09.01.11
Ten reasons why a sequence-based nomenclature is not useful for fungi anytime soon
Marco Thines‡, Pedro W. Crous§, M. Catherine Aime|, Takayuki Aoki, Lei Cai¶, Kevin D. Hyde#, Andrew N. Miller¤, Ning Zhang«, Marc Stadler»‡ Goethe University, Department of Biological Sciences, Institute of Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Frankfurt am Main, Germany§ CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Utrecht| Purdue University, Department of Botany & Plant Pathology, West Lafayette¶ Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 10, Key Laboratory of Systematic Mycology & Lichenology, Beijing# Mae Fah Luang University, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Chiang Rai, Thailand¤ International Commission on the Taxonomy of Fungi, Champaign« Rutgers University, Department of Plant Biology, New Brunswick» Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Department Microbial Drugs, Brunswick, Germany
© Marco Thines, Pedro Crous, M. Aime, Takayuki Aoki, Lei Cai, Kevin Hyde, Andrew Miller, Ning Zhang, Marc Stadler. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits to copy and distribute the article for non-commercial purposes, provided that the article is not altered or modified and the original author and source are credited. Citation:
Thines M, Crous PW, Aime MC, Aoki T, Cai L, Hyde KD, Miller AN, Zhang N, Stadler M (2018) Ten reasons why a sequence-based nomenclature is not useful for fungi anytime soon. IMA Fungus 9(1): 177-183. https://doi.org/10.5598/imafungus.2018.09.01.11 |  |
Abstract
The large number of species still to be discovered in fungi, together with an exponentially growing number of environmental sequences that cannot be linked to known taxa, has fuelled the idea that it might be necessary to formally name fungi on the basis of sequence data only. Here we object to this idea due to several shortcomings of the approach, ranging from concerns regarding reproducibility and the violation of general scientific principles to ethical issues. We come to the conclusion that sequence-based nomenclature is potentially harmful for mycology as a discipline. Additionally, a classification based on sequences as types is not within reach anytime soon, because there is a lack of consensus regarding common standards due to the fast pace at which sequencing technologies develop.
Keywords
Biodiversity, ICN, nomenclature, systematics, voucherless taxa