One Fungus, One Name – Defining the Genus Fusarium in a Scientifically Robust Way That Preserves Longstanding Use

: Defining the Genus Fusarium in a Scientifically Robust Way That Preserves Longstanding Use

: David M Geiser, Takayuki Aoki, Charles W Bacon, Scott E Baker, Madan K Bhattacharyya, Mary E Brandt, Daren W Brown, Lester W Burgess, Sofia Chulze, Jeffrey J Coleman, James C Correll, Sarah F Covert, Pedro W Crous, Christina A Cuomo, G Sybren De Hoog, Antonio Di Pietro, Wade H Elmer, Lynn Epstein, Rasmus J N Frandsen, Stanley Freeman, Tatiana Gagkaeva, Anthony E Glenn, Thomas R Gordon, Nancy F Gregory, Kim E Hammond-Kosack, Linda E Hanson, María del Mar Jímenez-Gasco, Seogchan Kang, H Corby Kistler, Gretchen A Kuldau, John F Leslie, Antonio Logrieco, Guozhong Lu, Erik Lysøe, Li-Jun Ma, Susan P McCormick, Quirico Migheli, Antonio Moretti, Françoise Munaut, Kerry O’Donnell, Ludwig Pfenning, Randy C Ploetz, Robert H Proctor, Stephen A Rehner, Vincent A R G Robert, Alejandro P Rooney, Baharuddin bin Salleh, Maria Mercedes Scandiani, Jonathan Scauflaire, Dylan P G Short, Emma Steenkamp, Haruhisa Suga, Brett A Summerell, Deanna A Sutton, Ulf Thrane, Francis Trail, Anne Van Diepeningen, Hans D VanEtten, Altus Viljoen, Cees Waalwijk, Todd J Ward, Michael J Wingfield, Jin-Rong Xu, Xiao-Bing Yang, Tapani Yli-Mattila, Ning Zhang

Publisher: The American Phytopathological Society

: 2013

: Phytopathology

: 5

: 103

: 5

: 400

: 408

: 0031-949X

DOI: https://doi.org/dx.doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-07-12-0150-LE(external)

In this letter, we advocate recognizing the genus Fusarium as the sole
name for a group that includes virtually all Fusarium species of importance
in plant pathology, mycotoxicology, medicine, and basic research.
This phylogenetically guided circumscription will free scientists
from any obligation to use other genus names, including teleomorphs, for
species nested within this clade, and preserve the application of the name
Fusarium in the way it has been used for almost a century. Due to recent
changes in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and
plants, this is an urgent matter that requires community attention. The
alternative is to break the longstanding concept of Fusarium into nine or
more genera, and remove important taxa such as those in the F. solani
species complex from the genus, a move we believe is unnecessary. Here
we present taxonomic and nomenclatural proposals that will preserve
established research connections and facilitate communication within and
between research communities, and at the same time support strong
scientific principles and good taxonomic practice.