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New study suggests fungi are more complex than experts thought
Visakhapatnam: Dr Belle Damodara Shenoy, principal scientist at the CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography Regional Centre, Visakhapatnam, has a new publication on rethinking the 'new' in fungal species.
The study stressed the importance of equitable global access to molecular technologies and infrastructural resources, particularly in biodiverse, yet under-resourced regions such as India. This will help foster broad engagement in fungal systematics and ensuring more comprehensive biodiversity assessment and conservation efforts. According to Dr Shenoy, an illustrative example is the colletotrichum gloeosporioides species complex.
Once regarded as a single, widely distributed pathogen, it has now been split into multiple genetically distinct species.
The study shows how molecular tools revealed species such as C. asianum, C. fructicola and C. siamense, which were previously grouped under one name because of their similar appearance.
"As we confront biodiversity loss and climate uncertainty, understanding fungi—the hidden engineers of ecosystems—has never been more critical," Dr Shenoy noted, calling for equitable access to subsequent technologies, regional bioinformatics hubs and collaborative research models that include scientists from the global south.
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Published in Mycological Spectrum, the official journal of the Association of Fungal Biologists (AFB), Dr Shenoy's article examines what constitutes a species in an era defined by genetic sequencing and asks whether the term 'new species' carries the same weight today as it once did.
"The discovery of fungal species has outpaced our tools for accurately defining them. Historically, fungi were classified on observable traits—spore structure, growth patterns, pigmentation.
But these morphological methods are no longer sufficient. Advances in molecular biology, particularly DNA bar coding using the internal transcribed spacer region, have upended traditional taxonomy. Researchers now use techniques such as genealogical concordance phylogenetic species recognition and coalescent-based models to uncover hidden, cryptic diversity," said the NIO principal scientist.
"The pendulum may be swinging too far in the other direction.
With a surge in DNA-based identifications, there is growing concern over taxonomic inflation—where minor genetic differences are mistaken for species-level divergences. A species is what a fungal taxonomist says it is; subjectivity remains inherent in the process," he added.
Coalescent-based methods offer a statistical remedy by modelling gene flow and population divergence, but they demand computational power and bioinformatics expertise that are often unavailable in biodiversity-rich yet resource-poor regions.
What is the way forward? Dr Shenoy advocates an integrative, eco-evolutionary approach—fusing molecular data with ecological context and classical morphology. This holistic method promises more robust, meaningful species classifications and deepens understanding of fungal biodiversity, with implications for agriculture, medicine and conservation.
"The challenge, however, is accessibility. Countries like India—home to immense fungal diversity—often lack the infrastructure and training needed to participate fully in this genomic era of taxonomy. There must be equitable access to sequencing technologies, regional bioinformatics hubs and collaborative research models that include scientists from the global south," Dr Shenoy added.
