Urgent need for authentic (derived from type or typified material) ITS sequence database for all fungi

摘要

The identification of fungal species has come a long way from the time when PCR was not in existence in mycological laboratories. Today it is difficult to find any mycological laboratory without a PCR machine. There are several reasons for the trend in using molecular methods, especially for identification of fungal species. Among them, the foremost is the accuracy and authenticity of using the DNA sequence, because it seldom changes (due to mutations) in contrast to morphology which does not remain constant and changes with environment. There are several examples where one is able to identify a non-sporulating strain to species level using the DNA sequence of rDNA, which otherwise would have been impossible due to lack of spores or fruiting structures useful in species identification. Due to the added advantage that we are able to deduce the phylogenetic relationships of fungi using DNA sequence data, molecular identification has not only gained support but has become an essential component in description of novel species.