Nomenclatural issues concerning cultured yeasts and other fungi: why it is important to avoid unneeded name changes
Andrey Yurkov,
Artur Alves,
Feng-Yan Bai,
Kyria Boundy-Mills,
Pietro Buzzini,
Neža Čadež,
Gianluigi Cardinali,
Serge Casaregola,
Vishnu Chaturvedi,
Valérie Collin,
Jack W. Fell,
Victoria Girard,
Marizeth Groenewald,
Ferry Hagen,
Chris Todd Hittinger,
Aleksey V. Kachalkin,
Markus Kostrzewa,
Vassili Kouvelis,
Diego Libkind,
Xinzhan Liu,
Thomas Maier,
Wieland Meyer,
Gábor Péter,
Marcin Piątek,
Vincent Robert,
Carlos A. Rosa,
Jose Paulo Sampaio,
Matthias Sipiczki,
Marc Stadler,
Takashi Sugita,
Junta Sugiyama,
Hiroshi Takagi,
Masako Takashima,
Benedetta Turchetti,
Qi-Ming Wang,
Teun Boekhout
Affiliations
Andrey Yurkov
Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures
Artur Alves
Departamento de Biologia, CESAM - Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Universidade de Aveiro
Feng-Yan Bai
State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Kyria Boundy-Mills
Department of Food Science and Technology, Phaff Yeast Culture Collection, University of California
Pietro Buzzini
Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences & Industrial Yeasts Collection DBVPG, University of Perugia
Neža Čadež
Department of Food Science and Technology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana
Gianluigi Cardinali
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Perugia
Serge Casaregola
Micalis Institute, INRA, AgroParisTech, CIRM-Levures, Université Paris-Saclay
Vishnu Chaturvedi
Mycology Laboratory, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health
Valérie Collin
BioMérieux, R&D Microbiologie
Jack W. Fell
Emeritus Professor, Marine Biology and Ecology, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami
Victoria Girard
BioMérieux, R&D Microbiologie
Marizeth Groenewald
Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute
Ferry Hagen
Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute
Chris Todd Hittinger
Laboratory of Genetics, Wisconsin Energy Institute, DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Center for Genomic Science Innovation, J. F. Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Aleksey V. Kachalkin
Faculty of Soil Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University
Markus Kostrzewa
Bruker Daltonik GmbH
Vassili Kouvelis
Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Diego Libkind
Centro de Referencia en Levaduras y Tecnología Cervecera (CRELTEC), Instituto Andino Patagónico de Tecnologías Biológicas y Geoambientales (IPATEC) CONICET - Universidad Nacional del Comahue
Xinzhan Liu
State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Thomas Maier
Bruker Daltonik GmbH
Wieland Meyer
Molecular Mycology Research Laboratory, Center for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Westmead Clinical School, Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney
Gábor Péter
National Collection of Agricultural and Industrial Microorganisms, Institute of Food Science and Technology, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Marcin Piątek
Department of Mycology, W. Szafer Institute of Botany of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Vincent Robert
Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute
Carlos A. Rosa
Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Jose Paulo Sampaio
UCIBIO, Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
Matthias Sipiczki
Department of Genetics and Applied Microbiology, University of Debrecen
Marc Stadler
Department Microbial Drugs, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, and German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF)
Takashi Sugita
Department of Microbiology, Meiji Pharmaceutical University
Junta Sugiyama
Department of Botany, National Museum of Nature and Science
Hiroshi Takagi
Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology
Masako Takashima
Laboratory of Yeast Systematics, Research Institute for Agricultural and Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Agriculture
Benedetta Turchetti
Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences & Industrial Yeasts Collection DBVPG, University of Perugia
Qi-Ming Wang
State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
ABSTRACT The unambiguous application of fungal names is important to communicate scientific findings. Names are critical for (clinical) diagnostics, legal compliance, and regulatory controls, such as biosafety, food security, quarantine regulations, and industrial applications. Consequently, the stability of the taxonomic system and the traceability of nomenclatural changes is crucial for a broad range of users and taxonomists. The unambiguous application of names is assured by the preservation of nomenclatural history and the physical organisms representing a name. Fungi are extremely diverse in terms of ecology, lifestyle, and methods of study. Predominantly unicellular fungi known as yeasts are usually investigated as living cultures. Methods to characterize yeasts include physiological (growth) tests and experiments to induce a sexual morph; both methods require viable cultures. Thus, the preservation and availability of viable reference cultures are important, and cultures representing reference material are cited in species descriptions. Historical surveys revealed drawbacks and inconsistencies between past practices and modern requirements as stated in the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi, and Plants (ICNafp). Improper typification of yeasts is a common problem, resulting in a large number invalid yeast species names. With this opinion letter, we address the problem that culturable microorganisms, notably some fungi and algae, require specific provisions under the ICNafp. We use yeasts as a prominent example of fungi known from cultures. But viable type material is important not only for yeasts, but also for other cultivable Fungi that are characterized by particular morphological structures (a specific type of spores), growth properties, and secondary metabolites. We summarize potential proposals which, in our opinion, will improve the stability of fungal names, in particular by protecting those names for which the reference material can be traced back to the original isolate.
