Which fungus it might be? Calling for a collaborative DNA barcoding exercise for mycologists

Abstract

This collaborative initiative calls upon mycologists, microbiologists, and biodiversity experts to participate in the community exercise and molecularly identify a collection of 45 common fungi using a comprehensive set of primary and secondary DNA barcoding sequences. Focusing on taxonomically enriched genera of Ascomycota such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium sensu lato, Alternaria, Trichoderma, and a few others, this initiative aims to review the agreement among the mycologists, uncovering molecular identification approaches, and standardizing training methodologies for future experts. Participants are invited to contribute taxonomic assessments, with co-authorship opportunities for those analyzing at least 15 or more of the 45 phylotypes provided. The initiative seeks a minimum of one hundred identifications per strain, fostering a collaborative community effort and testing for the need to the establishment of a web platform or an automated pipeline for the verification of fungal DNA barcoding results by the expert community. Utilizing 45 nonredundant phylotypes of fungi isolated from plastic waste samples, the exercise reviews the current state of DNA barcoding technology in mycology and sets groundwork for future applications and trainings.