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Updated: Jan 19, 2026
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Isolation of Culturable Yeasts and Molds from Soils to Investigate Fungal Population Structure
Published on: May 27, 2022
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Fungal Planet description sheets: 868-950
P W Crous1,2, A J Carnegie3, M J Wingfield2
1Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, P.O. Box 85167, 3508 AD Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Persoonia
|September 26, 2019
Summary
This study describes numerous novel fungal species discovered globally, expanding our understanding of fungal biodiversity. DNA barcoding supports the morphological and culture characteristics of these new fungal discoveries.
Area of Science:
- Mycology
- Fungal Taxonomy
- Biodiversity Research
Background:
- Fungal species diversity remains incompletely understood globally.
- Ongoing exploration is crucial for identifying and classifying new fungal taxa.
- This research contributes to the catalog of known fungal species.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe and document newly discovered fungal species from various global locations.
- To provide detailed morphological and DNA barcode data for each new species.
- To contribute to the global understanding of fungal biodiversity and distribution.
Main Methods:
- Isolation and cultivation of fungal species from diverse ecological niches (soil, plants, wood, insects).
- Morphological characterization of fungal isolates.
- DNA barcoding (e.g., ITS sequencing) to support species identification and phylogenetic placement.
Main Results:
- Description of numerous novel fungal species across Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ecuador, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mozambique, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Ukraine, USA, and Vietnam.
- New genera, including *Phialoseptomonium*, *Alfoldia*, *Kiskunsagia*, *Neoacrodontiella*, and *Anungitiomyces*, were established.
- New family *Pseudotruncatellaceae* was proposed.
Conclusions:
- The study significantly expands the known fungal diversity with the description of many new species and genera.
- Morphological and molecular data confirm the novelty and taxonomic placement of the described fungi.
- This work underscores the importance of continued mycological exploration worldwide.
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