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Title: Proposals to conserve the names Chaetomium piluliferum (Botryotrichum piluliferum) against ……and Gnomonia intermedia (Ophiognomonia intermedia) against Gloeosporium betulae (Discula betulae) (Ascomycota: Sordariomycetes)

Author
item ROSSMAN, AMY - Retired ARS Employee
item ALLEN, WILLIAM - North Carolina State University
item Castlebury, Lisa
item BOGAERTS, ANN - Botanic Garden Meise

Submitted to: Taxon
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/14/2017
Publication Date: 5/4/2017
Citation: Rossman, A.Y., Allen, W.C., Castlebury, L.A., Bogaerts, A. 2017. Proposals to conserve the names Chaetomium piluliferum (Botryotrichum piluliferum) against Coccospora agricola and Gnomonia intermedia (Ophiognomonia intermedia) against Gloeosporium betulae (Discula betulae) (Ascomycota: Sordariomycetes). Taxon. 66(2):514-515. doi: 10.12705/662.18.

Interpretive Summary: Everything needs a name in order to effectively communicate about it, including fungi that cause crop and other diseases. For years two scientific names of fungi were allowed, but recently it was decided to change to just one, in agreement with all other groups of organisms. The first step in changing to one scientific name is to determine which genus should be used. Numerous papers have been published with recommendations on which name should be used for major groups of plant pathogens, but some individual species have been overlooked and in some cases a different species name must be used due to a pre-existing conflict. In this paper incorporating all relevant information including DNA sequences, we make recommendations for the names of two overlooked fungal species, including a species that causes a disease of birch trees and one that produces important enzymes. This research will be used by scientists and plant quarantine officials who use accurate scientific names to communicate about diseases caused by fungi and thereby keep American agriculture safe.

Technical Abstract: In the course of updating the scientific names of plant-associated fungi in the USDA-ARS U.S. National Fungus Collections Fungal Databases to conform with one scientific name for fungi as required by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (ICN, McNeill & al. in Regnum Vegetable 154. 2012), a number of instances were encountered in which the oldest epithet was not placed in the oldest or preferred genus. Although the scientific names currently in use should be changed to use the oldest epithet, these economically important fungi are in such widespread use that it would be disruptive to change their names. Among these are Chaetomium piluliferum, a soil fungus capable of producing industrial enzymes such as pectinases and cellulases, and Gnomonia intermedia, a pathogen of birch trees. These names or their basionyms are herein proposed for conservation.