What are the 100 most cited fungal genera?

The global diversity of fungi has been estimated between 2 to 11 million species, of which only about 155 000 have been named. Most fungi are invisible to the unaided eye, but they represent a major component of biodiversity on our planet, and play essential ecological roles, supporting life as we know it. Although approximately 20 000 fungal genera are presently recognised, the ecology of most remains undetermined. Despite all this diversity, the mycological community actively researches some fungal genera more commonly than others. This poses an interesting question: why have some fungal genera impacted mycology and related fields more than others? To address this issue, we conducted a bibliometric analysis to identify the top 100 most cited fungal genera. A thorough database search of the Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed was performed to establish which genera are most cited. The most cited 10 genera are Saccharomyces, Candida, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, Trichoderma, Botrytis, Pichia, Cryptococcus and Alternaria. Case studies are presented for the 100 most cited genera with general background, notes on their ecology and economic significance and important research advances. This paper provides a historic overview of scientific research of these genera and the prospect for further research. Citation: Bhunjun CS, Chen YJ, Phukhamsakda C, Boekhout T, Groenewald JZ, McKenzie EHC, Francisco EC, Frisvad JC, Groenewald M, Hurdeal VG, Luangsa-ard J, Perrone G, Visagie CM, Bai FY, Blaszkowski J, Braun U, de Souza FA, de Queiroz MB, Dutta AK, Gonkhom D, Goto BT, Guarnaccia V, Hagen F, Houbraken J, Lachance MA, Li JJ, Luo KY, Magurno F, Mongkolsamrit S, Robert V, Roy N, Tibpromma S, Wanasinghe DN, Wang DQ, Wei DP, Zhao CL, Aiphuk W, Ajayi-Oyetunde O, Arantes TD, Araujo JC, Begerow D, Bakhshi M, Barbosa RN, Behrens FH, Bensch K, Bezerra JDP, Bilanski P, Bradley CA, Bubner B, Burgess TI, Buyck B, Cadez N, Cai L, Calaça FJS, Campbell LJ, Chaverri P, Chen YY, Chethana KWT, Coetzee B, Costa MM, Chen Q, Custódio FA, Dai YC, Damm U, de Azevedo Santiago ALCM, De Miccolis Angelini RM, Dijksterhuis J, Dissanayake AJ, Doilom M, Dong W, Alvarez-Duarte E, Fischer M, Gajanayake AJ, Gené J, Gomdola D, Gomes AAM, Hausner G, He MQ, Hou L, Iturrieta-González I, Jami F, Jankowiak R, Jayawardena RS, Kandemir H, Kiss L, Kobmoo N, Kowalski T, Landi L, Lin CG, Liu JK, Liu XB, Loizides M, Luangharn T, Maharachchikumbura SSN, Makhathini Mkhwanazi GJ, Manawasinghe IS, Marin-Felix Y, McTaggart AR, Moreau PA, Morozova OV, Mostert L, Osiewacz HD, Pem D, Phookamsak R, Pollastro S, Pordel A, Poyntner C, Phillips AJL, Phonemany M, Promputtha I, Rathnayaka AR, Rodrigues AM, Romanazzi G, Rothmann L, Salgado-Salazar C, Sandoval-Denis M, Saupe SJ, Scholler M, Scott P, Shivas RG, Silar P, Souza-Motta CM, Silva-Filho AGS, Spies CFJ, Stchigel AM, Sterflinger K, Summerbell RC, Svetasheva TY, Takamatsu S, Theelen B, Theodoro RC, Thines M, Thongklang N, Torres R, Turchetti B, van den Brule T, Wang XW, Wartchow F, Welti S, Wijesinghe SN, Wu F, Xu R, Yang ZL, Yilmaz N, Yurkov A, Zhao L, Zhao RL, Zhou N, Hyde KD, Crous PW (2024). What are the 100 most cited fungal genera? Studies in Mycology 108: 1-411. doi: 10.3114/sim.2024.108.01.

A phylogenetic re-evaluation of Phyllosticta (Botryosphaeriales).

Phyllosticta is a geographically widespread genus of plant pathogenic fungi with a diverse host range. This study redefines Phyllosticta, and shows that it clusters sister to the Botryosphaeriaceae (Botryosphaeriales, Dothideomycetes), for which the older family name Phyllostictaceae is resurrected. In moving to a unit nomenclature for fungi, the generic name Phyllosticta was chosen over Guignardia in previous studies, an approach that we support here. We use a multigene DNA dataset of the ITS, LSU, ACT, TEF and GPDH gene regions to investigate 129 isolates of Phyllosticta, representing about 170 species names, many of which are shown to be synonyms of the ubiquitous endophyte P. capitalensis. Based on the data generated here, 12 new species are introduced, while epitype and neotype specimens are designated for a further seven species. One species of interest is P. citrimaxima associated with tan spot of Citrus maxima fruit in Thailand, which adds a fifth species to the citrus black spot complex. Previous morphological studies lumped many taxa under single names that represent complexes. In spite of this Phyllosticta is a species-rich genus, and many of these taxa need to be recollected in order to resolve their phylogeny and taxonomy. TAXONOMIC NOVELTIES: New species - Phyllosticta abieticola Wikee & Crous, P. aloeicola Wikee & Crous, P. citrimaxima Wikee, Crous, K.D. Hyde & McKenzie, P. leucothoicola Wikee, Motohashi & Crous, P. mangifera-indica Wikee, Crous, K.D. Hyde & McKenzie, P. neopyrolae Wikee, Motohashi, Crous, K.D. Hyde & McKenzie, P. pachysandricola Wikee, Motohashi & Crous, P. paxistimae Wikee & Crous, P. podocarpicola Wikee, Crous, K.D. Hyde & McKenzie, P. rhaphiolepidis Wikee, C. Nakash. & Crous, P. rubra Wikee & Crous, P. vacciniicola Wikee, Crous, K.D. Hyde & McKenzie; New combinations - P. foliorum (Sacc.) Wikee & Crous, P. philoprina (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) Wikee & Crous; Epitypifications (basionyms) - P. concentrica Sacc., P. cussoniae Cejp, P. owaniana G. Winter; Neotypifications (basionyms) - Phyllosticta cordylinophila P.A. Young, Physalospora gregaria var. foliorum Sacc., Sphaeropsis hypoglossi Mont., Sphaeropsis minima Berk. & M.A. Curtis.

Phyllosticta ophiopogonis sp. nov. from Ophiopogon japonicus (Liliaceae).

A leaf spotting disease of an ornamental variety of Ophiopogon japonicus was discovered at several locations in northern Thailand. In all cases a species of Phyllosticta was associated with the lesions. Phyllosticta ophiopogonis sp. nov. is distinguished from Phyllosticta species from Liliaceae in conidia size, mucilaginous sheath and appendage thus the species is introduced as new in this paper. The new species which causes unsightly lesions on this ornamental plant is described, illustrated and compared with other similar Phyllosticta species.

Molecular and morphological characterization of Pyricularia and allied genera.

The phylogenetic relationships of Pyricularia species and species from related genera were established from sequences of the internal transcribed spacer ribosomal RNA gene. Phylogenetic analysis disclosed a consistent correlation with spore morphology. Most Pyricularia species studied, and two species of Dactylaria that have obpyriform conidia, fell within the Magnaporthaceae cluster with high bootstrap support. Pyricularia variabilis was more related to Dactylaria, Tumularia or Ochroconis species than to the Magnaporthaceae. Dactylaria and species of Nakataea, Ochroconis, Pyriculariopsis and Tumularia were distinct from the Magnaporthaceae, and the genus Dactylaria is polyphyletic. The combination of morphological and molecular characters, such as spore morphology and ITS ribosomal DNA sequences data, suggested that conidial shape could be a primary character to distinguish Pyricularia from related genera.

Microfungi on the Pandanaceae: Linocarpon lammiae sp. nov., L. siamensis sp. nov. and L. suthepensis sp. nov. are described with a key to Linocarpon species from the Pandanaceae.

Linocarpon species are reported from Pandanaceae in Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Seychelles, Thailand and Vanuatu. Linocarpon lammiae sp. nov. were collected on decaying leaves of Pandanus tectorius in Hong Kong. Linocarpon siamensis sp. nov. and L. suthepensis sp. nov. were collected from decaying leaves of P. penetrans in Thailand. These taxa are described, illustrated and compared with Linocarpon species with similar ascospore morphology and dimensions. Included are a synoptic table, which compares the new species to similar known species, and a dichotomous key to species of Linocarpon known from members of the Pandanaceae.