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Abstract The debates over the requirement ofthe International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants(ICNafp) for a viable specimen to represent the name-bearing type material for a species or infraspecific taxon have a long history. Taxonomy of fungi commonly studied as living cultures exemplified by yeasts and moulds, strongly depend on viable reference material. The availability of viable cultures is also particularly useful for several groups of filamentous and dimorphic fungi. While the preservation of metabolically inactive cultures is permitted and recommended by the ICNafp, there is room for improvement. Below, we review the history and current status of cultures as the name-bearing type material under theCode. We also present a roadmap with tasks to be achieved in order to establish a stable nomenclatural system that properly manages taxa typified by viable specimens. Furthermore, we propose setting up rules and defining the nomenclatural status of ex-type cultures under Chapter F, the section of the ICNafp that includes provisions specific to names of fungi. 

Abstract Novel methods for sampling and characterizing biodiversity hold great promise for re-evaluating patterns of life across the planet. The sampling of airborne spores with a cyclone sampler, and the sequencing of their DNA, have been suggested as an efficient and well-calibrated tool for surveying fungal diversity across various environments. Here we present data originating from the Global Spore Sampling Project, comprising 2,768 samples collected during two years at 47 outdoor locations across the world. Each sample represents fungal DNA extracted from 24 m³of air. We applied a conservative bioinformatics pipeline that filtered out sequences that did not show strong evidence of representing a fungal species. The pipeline yielded 27,954 species-level operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Each OTU is accompanied by a probabilistic taxonomic classification, validated through comparison with expert evaluations. To examine the potential of the data for ecological analyses, we partitioned the variation in species distributions into spatial and seasonal components, showing a strong effect of the annual mean temperature on community composition. 

Abstract The increasing number of new fungal species described from all over the world along with the use of genetics to define taxa, has dramatically changed the classification system of early-diverging fungi over the past several decades. The number of phyla established for non-Dikarya fungi has increased from 2 to 17. However, to date, both the classification and phylogeny of the basal fungi are still unresolved. In this article, we review the recent taxonomy of the basal fungi and re-evaluate the relationships among early-diverging lineages of fungal phyla. We also provide information on the ecology and distribution in  Mucoromycota and highlight the impact of chytrids on amphibian populations. Species concepts in Chytridiomycota , Aphelidiomycota , Rozellomycota , Neocallimastigomycota are discussed in this paper. To preserve the current application of the genus Nephridiophaga ( Chytridiomycota : Nephridiophagales ) , a new type species, Nephridiophaga blattellae , is proposed. 

As the continuation of Fungal Diversity Notes series, the current paper is the 16th contribution to this series. A total of 103 taxa from seven classes in Ascomycota and Basidiomycota are included here. Of these 101 taxa, four new genera, 89 new species, one new combination, one new name and six new records are described in detail along with information of hosts and geographic distributions. The four genera newly introduced are Ascoglobospora, Atheliella, Rufoboletus and Tenuimyces. Newly described species are Akanthomyces xixiuensis, Agaricus agharkarii, A. albostipitatus, Amphisphaeria guttulata, Ascoglobospora marina, Astrothelium peudostraminicolor, Athelia naviculispora, Atheliella conifericola, Athelopsis subglaucina, Aureoboletus minimus, A. nanlingensis, Autophagomyces incertus, Beltrania liliiferae, Beltraniella jiangxiensis, Botryobasidium coniferarum, Calocybella sribuabanensis, Calonarius caesiofulvus, C. nobilis, C. pacificus, C. pulcher, C. subcorrosus, Cortinarius flaureifolius, C. floridaensis, C. subiodes, Crustomyces juniperi, C. scytinostromoides, Cystostereum subsirmaurense, Dimorphomyces seemanii, Fulvoderma microporum, Ginnsia laricicola, Gomphus zamorinorum, Halobyssothecium sichuanense, Hemileccinum duriusculum, Henningsomyces hengduanensis, Hygronarius californicus, Kneiffiella pseudoabdita, K. pseudoalutacea, Laboulbenia bifida, L. tschirnhausii, L. tuberculata, Lambertella dipterocarpacearum, Laxitextum subrubrum, Lyomyces austro-occidentalis, L. crystallina, L. guttulatus, L. niveus, L. tasmanicus, Marasmius centrocinnamomeus, M. ferrugineodiscus, Megasporoporia tamilnaduensis, Meruliopsis crystallina, Metuloidea imbricata, Moniliophthora atlantica, Mystinarius ochrobrunneus, Neomycoleptodiscus alishanense, Nigrograna kunmingensis, Paracremonium aquaticum, Parahelicomyces dictyosporus, Peniophorella sidera, P. subreticulata, Phlegmacium fennicum, P. pallidocaeruleum, Pholiota betulicola, P. subcaespitosa, Pleurotheciella hyalospora, Pleurothecium aseptatum, Resupinatus porrigens, Russula chlorina, R. chrysea, R. cruenta, R. haematina, R. luteocarpa, R. sanguinolenta, Synnemellisia punensis, Tenuimyces bambusicola, Thaxterogaster americanoporphyropus, T. obscurovibratilis, Thermoascus endophyticus, Trechispora alba, T. perminispora, T. subfarinacea, T. tuberculata, Tremella sairandhriana, Tropicoporus natarajaniae, T. subramaniae, Usnea kriegeriana, Wolfiporiella macrospora and Xylodon muchuanensis. Rufoboletus hainanensis is newly transferred from Butyriboletus, while a new name Russula albocarpa is proposed for Russula leucocarpa G.J. Li & Chun Y. Deng an illegitimate later homonym of Russula leucocarpa (T. Lebel) T. Lebel. The new geographic distribution regions are recorded for Agaricus bambusetorum, Bipolaris heliconiae, Crinipellis trichialis, Leucocoprinus cretaceus, Halobyssothecium cangshanense and Parasola setulosa. Corresponding to morphological characters, phylogenetic evidence is also utilized to place the above-mentioned taxa in appropriate taxonomic positions. The current morphological and phylogenetic data is helpful for further clarification of species diversity and exploration of evolutionary relationships in the related fungal groups. 

Abstract Fungi are among the most diverse and ecologically important kingdoms in life. However, the distributional ranges of fungi remain largely unknown as do the ecological mechanisms that shape their distributions^1,2. To provide an integrated view of the spatial and seasonal dynamics of fungi, we implemented a globally distributed standardized aerial sampling of fungal spores³. The vast majority of operational taxonomic units were detected within only one climatic zone, and the spatiotemporal patterns of species richness and community composition were mostly explained by annual mean air temperature. Tropical regions hosted the highest fungal diversity except for lichenized, ericoid mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi, which reached their peak diversity in temperate regions. The sensitivity in climatic responses was associated with phylogenetic relatedness, suggesting that large-scale distributions of some fungal groups are partially constrained by their ancestral niche. There was a strong phylogenetic signal in seasonal sensitivity, suggesting that some groups of fungi have retained their ancestral trait of sporulating for only a short period. Overall, our results show that the hyperdiverse kingdom of fungi follows globally highly predictable spatial and temporal dynamics, with seasonality in both species richness and community composition increasing with latitude. Our study reports patterns resembling those described for other major groups of organisms, thus making a major contribution to the long-standing debate on whether organisms with a microbial lifestyle follow the global biodiversity paradigms known for macroorganisms^4,5. 

ABSTRACT True fungi (Fungi) and fungus-like organisms (e.g.Mycetozoa,Oomycota) constitute the second largest group of organisms based on global richness estimates, with around 3 million predicted species. Compared to plants and animals, fungi have simple body plans with often morphologically and ecologically obscure structures. This poses challenges for accurate and precise identifications. Here we provide a conceptual framework for the identification of fungi, encouraging the approach of integrative (polyphasic) taxonomy for species delimitation, i.e. the combination of genealogy (phylogeny), phenotype (including autecology), and reproductive biology (when feasible). This allows objective evaluation of diagnostic characters, either phenotypic or molecular or both. Verification of identifications is crucial but often neglected. Because of clade-specific evolutionary histories, there is currently no single tool for the identification of fungi, although DNA barcoding using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) remains a first diagnosis, particularly in metabarcoding studies. Secondary DNA barcodes are increasingly implemented for groups where ITS does not provide sufficient precision. Issues of pairwise sequence similarity-based identifications and OTU clustering are discussed, and multiple sequence alignment-based phylogenetic approaches with subsequent verification are recommended as more accurate alternatives. In metabarcoding approaches, the trade-off between speed and accuracy and precision of molecular identifications must be carefully considered. Intragenomic variation of the ITS and other barcoding markers should be properly documented, as phylotype diversity is not necessarily a proxy of species richness. Important strategies to improve molecular identification of fungi are: (1) broadly document intraspecific and intragenomic variation of barcoding markers; (2) substantially expand sequence repositories, focusing on undersampled clades and missing taxa; (3) improve curation of sequence labels in primary repositories and substantially increase the number of sequences based on verified material; (4) link sequence data to digital information of voucher specimens including imagery. In parallel, technological improvements to genome sequencing offer promising alternatives to DNA barcoding in the future. Despite the prevalence of DNA-based fungal taxonomy, phenotype-based approaches remain an important strategy to catalog the global diversity of fungi and establish initial species hypotheses. 

Abstract Fungi are highly diverse organisms, which provide multiple ecosystem services. However, compared with charismatic animals and plants, the distribution patterns and conservation needs of fungi have been little explored. Here, we examined endemicity patterns, global change vulnerability and conservation priority areas for functional groups of soil fungi based on six global surveys using a high‐resolution, long‐read metabarcoding approach. We found that the endemicity of all fungi and most functional groups peaks in tropical habitats, including Amazonia, Yucatan, West‐Central Africa, Sri Lanka, and New Caledonia, with a negligible island effect compared with plants and animals. We also found that fungi are predominantly vulnerable to drought, heat and land‐cover change, particularly in dry tropical regions with high human population density. Fungal conservation areas of highest priority include herbaceous wetlands, tropical forests, and woodlands. We stress that more attention should be focused on the conservation of fungi, especially root symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi in tropical regions as well as unicellular early‐diverging groups and macrofungi in general. Given the low overlap between the endemicity of fungi and macroorganisms, but high conservation needs in both groups, detailed analyses on distribution and conservation requirements are warranted for other microorganisms and soil organisms.