Proposed nomenclature for Pseudallescheria,Scedosporium and related genera

As a result of fundamental changes in the International Code of Nomenclature on the use of separate names for sexual and asexual stages of fungi,generic names of many groups should be reconsidered.Members of the ECMM/ISHAM working group on Pseudallescheria/Scedosporium infections herein advocate a novel nomenclature for genera and species in Pseudallescheria,Scedosporium and allied taxa.The generic names Parascedosporium,Lomentospora,Petriella,Petriellopsis,and Scedosporium are proposed for a lineage within Microascaceae with mostly Scedosporium anamorphs producing slimy,annellidic conidia.Considering that Scedosporium has priority over Pseudallescheria and that Scedosporium prolificans is phylogenetically distinct from the other Scedosporium species,some name changes are proposed.Pseudallescheria minutispora and Petriellidium desertorum are renamed as Scedosporium minutisporum and S.desertorum,respectively.Scedosporium prolificans is renamed as Lomentospora prolificans.

Trends in yeast diversity discovery

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 many threatened habitats,remain unsampled for yeasts and many others are only superficially studied.Cold habitats,such as glaciers,are home to a specific community of cold-adapted yeasts,and,hence,there is some urgency to study such environments at locations where they might disappear soon due to anthropogenic climate change.The same is true for yeast communities in various natural forests that are impacted by deforestation and forest conversion.Many countries of the so-called Global South have not been sampled for yeasts,despite their economic promise.However,extensive research activity in Asia,especially China,has yielded many taxonomic novelties.Comparative genomics stud-ies have demonstrated the presence of yeast species with a hybrid origin,many of them isolated from clinical or industrial environments.DNA-metabarcoding studies have demonstrated the prevalence,and in some cases dominance,of yeast species in soils and marine waters worldwide,including some surprising distributions,such as the unexpected and likely common presence of Malassezia yeasts in marine habitats.