Phytopathogenic Fungi identification in Thailand: Current trends and future perspectives

Abstract

Thailand is rich in fungal diversity and new taxa are continuously introduced. In the last decade there has been a vast improvement on the taxonomy, phylogeny and classification of fungi, including in Thailand. Earlier studies were solely based on morphology while modern research uses morphology and molecular phylogeny. There is a huge gap between currently accepted species numbers and previously described species based on morphology. Hence, clarification of previously introduced species using molecular data and providing missing molecular data for those species, is as important as introducing novel taxa. Correct identification of fungi is important in plant pathology and for quarantine purposes. Some introduced fungal species have been discovered to be species complexes based on modern molecular phylogeny. The adoption of “one fungus one name” has necessitated the updating of previous classifications. There are also many taxa yet to be discovered from Thailand. Thus it is important to recollect, sequence, re-describe and resolve the taxonomic ambiguities. It is important to document all fungal taxa as well as provide information on their life modes and to update plant quarantine checklists. In this review we discuss the status of phytopathogenic fungal identification, evolution of the fungal studies through some well-known examples, modern technologies that can be used, and prospects. Most importantly we provide a checklist of plant associated fungi of Thailand, for which there is molecular data available.