Abstract Detail

Sequence-based Identification of Fungi

Geiser, David M. [1].

Practice makes…  progress.  Successes and challenges in sequence-based species recognition, taxonomy and identification in Fusarium.

Because of Fusarium’s importance in agriculture, medicine and general impact on human affairs, its taxonomy has a crucial influence.  Over the last twenty years, the molecular revolution has enabled huge advances in Fusarium systematics, particularly in terms of species recognition and identification.  The maturity of Fusarium species-level systematics is reflected in the broad application of sequence-based identification methods in applied and basic research around the world, and perhaps it can serve as a model in terms of success and challenges.  Challenges include the following: 1) the relatively resolved picture of Fusarium phylogeny at the species level remains, to a large extent, unintegrated into formal taxonomy; 2) sequence-based identification methods are straightforward and assisted by tools including FUSARIUM-ID (http://isolate.fusariumdb.org) and Fusarium MLST (http://www.cbs.knaw.nl/Fusarium/), but this lack of taxonomic integration means the results are often incomplete or confusing to end-users; 3) the ubiquitous nature of Fusarium means it is often detected in sequence-based environmental surveys, but the resulting data are rarely exploited for their full taxonomic meaning; and 4) next-generation sequencing methods are expected to result in more and diverse data that are not easily integrated into our existing phylogenetic framework.  All research and discovery that encounters fungal diversity will benefit from our success in meeting these challenges, which apply across the discipline of mycology.  It is time for the community to discuss and draft standards of practice regarding sequence-based identification of Fungi going forward, and create bioinformatics resources that facilitate their application.

Related Links:
FUSARIUM-ID
Fusarium MLST

1 - Penn State Univ, Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology, 121 Buckhout Laboratory, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

Keywords:
databases
NGS (next-generation sequencing)
MLST (multilocus sequence typing).

Presentation Type: Symposium or Colloquium Presentation
Session: SY8
Location: Room 103 AB/Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center
Date: Wednesday, June 11th, 2014
Time: 1:30 PM
Number: SY8002
Abstract ID:126
Candidate for Awards:None