Online Databases for Taxonomy and Identification of Pathogenic Fungi and Proposal for a Cloud-Based Dynamic Data Network Platform

Peralam Yegneswaran Prakash; Laszlo Irinyi; Catriona Halliday; Sharon Chen; Vincent Robert; Wieland Meyer

doi:10.1128/JCM.02084-16

Online Databases for Taxonomy and Identification of Pathogenic Fungi and Proposal for a Cloud-Based Dynamic Data Network Platform

J Clin Microbiol. 2017 Apr;55(4):1011-1024. doi: 10.1128/JCM.02084-16. Epub 2017 Feb 8.

Authors

Peralam Yegneswaran Prakash^{1

2

3}, Laszlo Irinyi², Catriona Halliday³, Sharon Chen^{2

3}, Vincent Robert⁴, Wieland Meyer⁵

Affiliations

¹ Mycology Division, Department of Microbiology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal University, Karnataka, India.
² Molecular Mycology Research Laboratory Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Sydney Medical School, Westmead Hospital, Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, University of Sydney, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Sydney, Australia.
³ Clinical Mycology Reference Laboratory, Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services, The Institute for Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Pathology West, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW, Australia.
⁴ Bioinformatics Group, CBS-KNAW Fungal Biodiversity Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
⁵ Molecular Mycology Research Laboratory Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Sydney Medical School, Westmead Hospital, Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, University of Sydney, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Sydney, Australia wieland.meyer@sydney.edu.au.

Abstract

The increase in public online databases dedicated to fungal identification is noteworthy. This can be attributed to improved access to molecular approaches to characterize fungi, as well as to delineate species within specific fungal groups in the last 2 decades, leading to an ever-increasing complexity of taxonomic assortments and nomenclatural reassignments. Thus, well-curated fungal databases with substantial accurate sequence data play a pivotal role for further research and diagnostics in the field of mycology. This minireview aims to provide an overview of currently available online databases for the taxonomy and identification of human and animal-pathogenic fungi and calls for the establishment of a cloud-based dynamic data network platform.

Keywords: databases; fungi; nomenclature; pathogenic; taxonomy.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Databases, Factual*
Fungi / classification*
Fungi / isolation & purification*
Humans
Microbiological Techniques / methods*
Mycoses / diagnosis*
Mycoses / microbiology*