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Species delimitation is one of the most fundamental processes in biology. Biodiversity undertakings, for instance, require explicit species concepts and criteria for species delimitation in order to be relevant and translatable. However, a perfect species concept does not exist for Fungi. Here, we review the species concepts commonly used in Basidiomycota, the second largest phylum of Fungi that contains some of the best known species of mushrooms, rusts, smuts, and jelly fungi. In general, best practice is to delimitate species, publish new taxa, and conduct taxonomic revisions based on as many independent lines of evidence as possible, that is, by applying a so-called unifying (or integrative) conceptual framework. However, the types of data used vary considerably from group to group. For this reason we discuss the different classes of Basidiomycota, and for each provide: (i) a general introduction with difficulties faced in species recognition, (ii) species concepts and methods for species delimitation, and (iii) community recommendations and conclusions.

Monilinia kusanoi causes shoot blight, leaf blight and fruit rot of several Prunus species, and is currently known to be present only in Japan and Korea. Despite the restricted distribution range, the risk remains that the pathogen could spread with the transportation of plant material, especially since no DNA based diagnostic methods are available to detect this fungus. In this study, a new TaqMan probe-based real-time assay was developed for specific and rapid detection of M. kusanoi. The assay targets the single copy elongation factor gene and enables the detection down to 1 pg of pathogen DNA in a plant sample, which corresponds to approximately 25 hyphal cells. When testing a panel of fungal cultures, all M. kusanoi isolates were detected and there was no cross-reaction with other Monilinia species or related fungi. The assay was duplexed with a plant internal control assay to allow simultaneous detection of the pathogen and cytochrome oxidase gene from host plants. This newly developed real-time PCR assay will facilitate rapid and sensitive pathogen screening of imported plant material, as M. kusanoi is a pathogen of biosecurity concern in New Zealand and Australia and would also be useful for research and screening purposes in areas where the pathogen is already established.

Apple leaf blotch has been observed in Nelson and Hawke’s Bay regions of New Zealand over recent years. Fungi from the genus Alternaria were consistently obtained from symptomatic leaf material, an...

A rust fungus was found on the leaves of Euphorbia helioscopia during a field study in Pakistan. Previously, Melampsora euphorbiae, M. euphorbiae-gerardianae and M. helioscopiae have been reported on E. helioscopia, the first two of which are also known from Pakistan. Morphological observations of the newly collected rust samples detected some differences from the previously described Melampsora species on E. helioscopia. The molecular analysis of the ITS and LSU sequences also detected that the rust is different from the previously reported rusts described from E. helioscopia. Based on both morphological comparisons and sequence analysis, the rust is described here as M. pakistanica sp. nov. This species could have potential as a bio-control agent against its host plant—E. helioscopia—which is a weed of wheat fields in Pakistan and elsewhere in the world.