Name Changes for Fungi of Medical Importance, 2016–2017

Abstract

This article lists proposed new or revised species names and classification changes associated with fungi of medical importance that were published in the years 2016 and 2017. While many of the revised names listed have been widely adopted without further discussion, some may take longer to achieve more general usage.

Name Changes for Fungi of Medical Importance, 2018 to 2019

“…To date, this novel addition to the Ajellomycetaceae appears geographically restricted to this continent, where it was predominantly associated with extrapulmonary disease (skin and bone), although this likely followed hematogenous dissemination from a primary pulmonary infection. This continues the description of multiple novel dimorphic pathogens following the detailed molecular analyses of often historical cases that was observed in the previous two updates in this series (2,3). An additional novel dimorphic pathogen, Emmonsia soli (6), was described in 2018 from a single isolate from soil.…”

“…Previous lists were bolstered by genus-or family-wide taxonomic reappraisals of clinically important fungi, including the dermatophytes and several genera within Ajellomycetaceae and Cryptococcus spp. in the neoformans and gattii complexes (2,3). Here, many of the proposed changes concern fungi of the Fusarium solani species complex and several additional members of the Ajellomycetaceae and several yeast species with Candida anamorphs.…”

“…However, given the speed of change, even they are not complete/correct across all genera of medically important fungi. The present article represents an update to two previous ones (2,3) which provided lists of novel taxa and revised names for existing taxa for fungi of medical importance published between 2012 and 2015 (2) and 2016 and 2017 (3).…”

Consensus guidelines for the diagnosis and management of cryptococcosis and rare yeast infections in the haematology/oncology setting, 2021

“…A detailed discussion on taxonomical changes is beyond the scope of this paper; we encourage readers to refer to other articles for further information. [203][204][205] Rare yeasts are considered emerging fungal pathogens and now collectively cause 1.1-1.7% of fungaemia cases, 5,164,197 with some well-known and others recently described and/or re-classified. Generally, they colonise the skin and mucosal surfaces.…”

Nomenclatural issues concerning cultured yeasts and other fungi: why it is important to avoid unneeded name changes

“…Communities of taxonomists that study microorganisms should be aware that taxonomy is, to a large extent, a service to non-taxonomist users, who repeatedly express dismay at the growing number of name changes that accompany new methodological developments. Yet another round of name changes, arising from capricious nomenclatural dictates, will afflict the user community, be it clinical, biotechnological, food-associated, or intellectual property (Yutin and Galperin 2013 ; Lawson et al 2016 ; Warnock 2019 ), and adversely affect large databases, such as GenBank, patent databases, and clinical guidelines that need to implement name changes. Routine taxonomic changes can rapidly incite debates around naming species of medical importance, highlighting the responsibility of scientists to patients who may experience health risks due to the wrong treatment being given because of name change (Kidd et al 2020 ).…”