David HawksworthRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew
David Hawksworth
CBE, PhD, DSc, FD(hc)
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Introduction
Additional affiliations
March 2014 - present
September 2006 - present
January 2002 - March 2014
Education
July 1967 - September 1969
September 1964 - June 1967
Publications
Publications (1,024)
Societal Impact Statement
Biological samples and their associated information are an essential resource used by scientists, governments, policymakers, practitioners and communities to ensure that biodiversity can be appropriately protected and sustainably used. Yet, considering the enormous task of documenting the vast numbers of as‐yet‐unknown pla...
The debates over the requirement of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICNafp) for a viable specimen to represent the name-bearing type material for a species or infraspecific taxon have a long history. Taxonomy of fungi commonly studied as living cultures exemplified by yeasts and moulds, strongly depend on viable...
A Special-purpose Committee on Fungal Names with the Same Epithet was established at the XIX International Botanical Congress (IBC) in Shenzhen, China in 2017, with a mandate to report to the 12th International Mycological Congress (IMC) with recommendations on a preferred course of action with respect to names of pleomorphic fungi sharing the same...
Fungi are integral to well-functioning ecosystems, and their broader impact on Earth systems is widely acknowledged. Fossil evidence from the Rhynie Chert (Scotland, UK) shows that Fungi were already diverse in terrestrial ecosystems over 407-million-years-ago, yet evidence for the occurrence of Dikarya ( the subkingdom of Fungi that includes the p...
The rapid pace of name changes of medically important fungi is creating challenges for clinical laboratories and clinicians involved in patient care. We describe two sources of name change which have different drivers, at the species versus the genus level. Some suggestions are made here to reduce the number of name changes. We urge taxonomists to...
This study re-examined the status of species of Diorygma Eshw. known from the Western Ghats using an integrative taxonomy
approach that includes morphological and chemical data, as well as multigene phylogenetic analyses. Prior to this work, the two species
D. karnatakense and D. dandeliense were distinguished primarily on lirellae morphology (bran...
Nowadays Fungi are recognized as integral to well-functioning ecosystems, and their broader impact on earth systems is widely acknowledged. Remarkable early fossil evidence from the Rhynie chert (Scotland, UK) shows that Fungi were already diverse in terrestrial ecosystems over 407-million-years-ago, yet evidence for the occurrence of Dikarya (the...
This fourth annual edition of MycoNews starts with an editorial asking if mycology is approaching a tipping point, and note of the journal’s 2021 Impact Factor almost doubling from 2020. Updated information and new speakers for IMC12 in 2024 is presented. Reports are provided for the Rise of the Fungi symposium in Amsterdam and of MycoRiseUP! in Wa...
Ascomycota account for about two-thirds of named fungal species.¹ Over 98% of known Ascomycota belong to the Pezizomycotina, including many economically important species as well as diverse pathogens, decomposers, and mutualistic symbionts.² Our understanding of Pezizomycotina evolution has until now been based on sampling traditionally well-define...
This third annual edition of MycoNews starts with a message from IMA President Wieland Meyer regarding the adoption of new statutes for the IMA, the postponement of IMC12 to 2024, and announcing Marc Stadler as President-elect. The new statutes are included in full. News is provided on the launch of a World Fungus Day, acceptance of the term Funga...
Two lichenicolous fungi, one growing on the thallus of Lobaria pulmonaria in the United Kingdom (Scotland) and the other in apothecia of Lobaria linita and L. oregana in northwestern North America (Alaska and British Columbia) and northeast Asia (Russian Far East, Khabarovsk Krai), show similarities to the species originally described as Dothidea h...
There is a long‐standing need to fix the application of the name Sphaeria sinensis, basionym of the economically important Chinese caterpillar fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis, at the molecular level. The fungus was described by Berkeley in 1843, and is now harvested in the Tibetan Plateau (including the Himalayas). This need arises because of the ex...
Lichens are symbiotic associations resulting from interactions among fungi (primary and secondary mycobionts), algae and/or cyanobacteria (primary and secondary photobionts), and specific elements of the bacterial microbiome associated with the lichen thallus. The question of what is a species, both concerning the lichen as a whole and its main fun...
Large phylogeographic studies on lichens are scarce, and none involves a single species within which different lineages show fixed alternative dispersal strategies. We investigated Bryoria fuscescens (including B. capillaris) in Europe and western North Africa by phenotypically characterizing 1400 specimens from 64 populations and genotyping them w...
Lichens are most appropriately viewed as self-supporting ecosystems formed by the interaction of a fungus, one or more photosynthetic partners, and an indeterminate number of other microscopic organisms – with the fungal partner providing the overall physical structure and scientific name used to refer to them. They were the first associations to w...
It is now a decade since The International Commission on the Taxonomy of Fungi (ICTF) produced an overview of requirements and best practices for describing a new fungal species. In the meantime the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICNafp) has changed from its former name (the International Code of Botanical Nomencla...
The identification and proper naming of microfungi, in particular plant, animal and human pathogens, remains challenging. Molecular identification is becoming the default approach for many fungal groups, and environmental metabarcoding is contributing an increasing amount of sequence data documenting fungal diversity on a global scale. This include...
The lichen, to which the name Lecidea lichenicola is found to have been misapplied, was first described from England and is an extreme specialist of chalk pebbles. It has long been known that it is not closely related to Lecidea in the strict sense, but its true evolutionary relationships have been unknown. Here we use metagenome-assembled genome d...
This second annual edition of MycoNews starts with a message from IMA President Wieland Meyer regarding the steps being taken to legally incorporate the Association in Switzerland. News is provided on progress in the arrangements for IMC12 (Amsterdam 2022), release of the State of World’s Plants and Fungi report, mycology under the Coronavirus pand...
Since the discovery of the Pleurocordyceps/‘Polycephalomyces’ clade unaffiliated with the clades of Clavicipitaceae s. str., Ophiocordycipitaceae and Cordycipitaceae of clavicipitaceous fungi, a number of taxa have been published subsequently and more fungal material relevant to the group have become available for further study. Here, a multi‐gene...
Reviews and notices are provided on 23 books, published over the years 2017–2020. These are concerned with diverse aspects of biodiversity and conservation, including historical works on different types of institutions, climate change and palaeobiology, global health and sustainability, ecology, restoration, community involvement, animal behaviour,...
It is common practice in scientific journals to print genus and species names in italics. This is not only historical as species names were traditionally derived from Greek or Latin. Importantly, it also facilitates the rapid recognition of genus and species names when skimming through manuscripts. However, names above the genus level are not alway...
Different hypotheses have been proposed to interpret the observed unusual ITS (internal transcribed spacer) sequences in Ophiocordyceps sinensis. The coexistence of diverged ITS paralogs in a single genome was previously shown by amplifying the ITS region from mono-ascospore isolates using specific primers designed for different ITS paralog groups....
The algicolous and lichenicolous species Psammina filamentosa is described from the Netherlands and the UK, and is characterized by long (generally over 50 μm) and somewhat tapered conidial arms. Psammina filamentosa is compared with other Psammina specimens found in the same habitat, growing on algae or lichens on the dry side of trees and stones....
Asking authors who have tested interventions to explain how they have placed their paper in context will help ensure conservation science reduces the perils of cherry picking scientific evidence and will improve the design of future work. It will not provide a complete remedy to bias in conservation articles. Ideally, the impact of this measure wil...
Spplementary file of A new genus and species of foliicolous lichen in a new family of Strigulales (Ascomycota: Dothideomycetes) reveals remarkable class-level homoplasy
True fungi (Fungi) and fungus-like organisms (e.g. Mycetozoa, Oomycota) constitute the second largest group of organisms based on global richness estimates, with around 3 million predicted species. Compared to plants and animals, fungi have simple body plans with often morphologically and ecologically obscure structures. This poses challenges for a...
This article is a Commentary on Mark et al. (2020), 227: 1362–1375.
This article provides an outline of the classification of the kingdom Fungi (including fossil fungi. i.e. dispersed spores, mycelia, sporophores, mycorrhizas). We treat 19 phyla of fungi. These are Aphelidiomycota, Ascomycota, Basidiobolomycota, Basidiomycota, Blastocladiomycota, Calcarisporiellomycota, Caulochytriomycota, Chytridiomycota, Entomoph...
This article provides an outline of the classification of the kingdom Fungi (including fossil fungi. i.e. dispersed spores, mycelia, sporophores, mycorrhizas). We treat 19 phyla of fungi. These are Aphelidiomycota, Ascomycota, Basidiobolomycota, Basidiomycota, Blastocladiomycota, Calcarisporiellomycota, Caulochytriomycota, Chytridiomycota, Entomoph...
Phylogenetic analysis of some foliicolous lichens collected in Hainan Province, China, revealed a new lineage morphologically similar to Porina but phylogenetically related to Strigulaceae (Dothideomycetes), differing from the latter in ascus type. The monospecific genus Tenuitholiascus gen. nov. is introduced for the single species, T. porinoides...
This book covers a broad spectrum of topics related to GMOs and allied new gene-based technologies, biodiversity, and ecosystem processes, bringing together the contributions of researchers and regulators from around the world. The aim is to offer a clear view of the benefits and effects of genetically modified crops, insects, and other animals on...
Abstract A revised version of Chapter F of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants is presented, incorporating amendments approved by the Fungal Nomenclature Session of the 11th International Mycological Congress held in San Juan, Puerto Rico in July 2018. The process leading to the amendments is outlined. Key changes in...
This first instalment of MycoNews includes: an Editorial “Do we need more governance in taxonomy?”; reports of mycological meetings in Poland (18th Congress of European Mycologists), Iran (4th Iranian Mycological Congress) and Chile (1st Chilean Meeting of Mycology (I Encuentro Chileno de Micología); an award to Lynne Boddy; birthday greetings to G...
Cryptolechia carneolutea is the type species of the genus Cryptolechia , a rare taxon classified as endangered in the UK, now largely confined to ancient Fraxinus trees. The only tree with abundant growth of the species in one of its strongholds, the Slapton Ley National Nature Reserve in Devon, was blown over in a storm in April 2017, making it po...
The date of publication of the generic name Abrothallus is discussed, along with typification of the Abrothallus names proposed by Giuseppe De Notaris, Søren Christian Sommerfelt, and Ignaz Kotte. Pertinent historical collections have been examined, and each typication is supplied with a description in order to facilitate correct identifications. T...
A tribute to Mark Seaward, environmental lichenologist and recorder par excellence, at eighty - Volume 50 Issue 6 - David L. Hawksworth, Brian J. Coppins
Reviews and notices are provided on 15 books, published over the years 2016–2018. These are concerned with diverse aspects of biodiversity and conservation, including biogeography, marine ecology and fisheries, legislation and regulation, mammals, sustainable development, and woodland ecology. This is the seventh of a series of cumulative reviews a...
Fungi were once regarded as merely simple or lower plants and were assigned fewer than fifty of the 1,200 pages in Linnaeus’ Species Plantarum[1]. As time has moved on and more has been learned about fungi and their relationships to other forms of life, they are now rightly placed in their own kingdom[2], more closely related to animals than to pla...
These data base treats the Appendices I-VII of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Shenzhen Code). It is online at: < https://naturalhistory2.si.edu/botany/codes-proposals/>
What are fungi and why are they important? How many
species, families and phyla are currently known to science
and why is it so difficult to work these numbers out?
In many lichen-forming fungi, molecular phylogenetic analyses lead to the discovery of cryptic species within traditional morphospecies. However, in some cases, molecular sequence data also questions the separation of phenotypically characterised species. Here we apply an integrative taxonomy approach ‒ including morphological, chemical, molecular,...
There is urgent need for a formal nomenclature of sequence-based, voucherless Fungi, given that environmental sequencing has accumulated more than one billion fungal ITS reads in the Sequence Read Archive, about 1,000 times as many as fungal ITS sequences in GenBank. These unnamed Fungi could help to bridge the gap between 115,000 to 140,000 curren...
We reply to two recently published, multi-authored opinion papers by opponents of sequence-based nomenclature, namely Zamora et al. (IMA Fungus9: 167–175,2018) and Thines et al. (IMA Fungus9: 177–183, 2018). While we agree with some of the principal arguments brought forward by these authors, we address misconceptions and demonstrate that some of t...
Open-access online version - DOI: https://doi.org/10.12705/Code.2018
Seven proposals to modify the provisions of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) at the 11th International Mycological Congress (IMC11) in July 2018 had been received by the proscribed date of 1 March 2018. These proposals are formally presented together here. The topics addressed relate to the clarification of...
The evolution and spread of resistance among pathogenic microbes to different antibiotics currently in use is a global health problem. Attempts are being made to tackle this major health burden by involving policy makers, scientists, healthcare professionals, the general public and industry. Several strategies, including improvement of prescribing...
This article summarizes the key changes in the rules relating to the nomenclature of fungi made at the XIX International Botanical Congress in Shenzhen, China, in July 2017. Most significant was the decision to transfer decision-making on matters related only to the naming of fungi from International Botanical to International Mycological Congresse...
The holotype of Thyronectria hyperantarctica was re-examined, redescribed, and compared with new collections of an Antarctic bryophilous ascomycete from a similar area. Because the condition of type material was insufficient for molecular studies, the authors designated an epitype from newly collected material with a high degree of morphological si...
Knowledge of the relationships and thus the classification of fungi, has developed rapidly with increasingly widespread use of molecular techniques, over the past 10–15 years, and continues to accelerate. Several genera have been found to be polyphyletic, and their generic concepts have subsequently been emended. New names have thus been introduced...
Extraction of DNA from lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi: a low-cost fast protocol using Chelex - Volume 49 Issue 5 - Zuzana Ferencova, Víctor J. Rico, David L. Hawksworth
Lichens of Mexico. The Parmeliaceae – Keys, Distribution and Specimen Descriptions . Edited by Maria Herrera-Campos, Rosa Emilia Pérez-Pérez and Thomas H. Nash III. 2016. Stuttgart: J. Cramer in Borntraeger Science Publishers. Pp. vi+723, 17 figures (most coloured). Page size 215mm×140mm, weight 995g. (Bibliotheca Lichenologica No. 110.) ISBN 978-3...
600 lichens and 82 lichenicolous and allied fungi have been recorded from Eagle Hill in Steuben, ME, and its vicinity over the past 25 years, mainly as a consequence of courses and research centered upon the Eagle Hill Institute (formerly the Humboldt Field Research Institute). Of the 682 taxa listed, 331 have been recorded within the Institute's b...
Fungal Diversity Revisited: 2.2 to 3.8 Million Species, Page 1 of 2
Abstract
The question of how many species of Fungi there are has occasioned much speculation, with figures mostly posited from around half a million to 10 million, and in one extreme case even a sizable portion of the spectacular number of 1 trillion. Here we examine new evidence...
A tribute to Jack Laundon (1934–2016) - Volume 49 Issue 4 - Mark R. D. SEAWARD, David L. HAWKSWORTH
(2491) Proposal to conserve the name Rhizophagus with a conserved type (Fungi: Glomeromycota: Glomeraceae)
Lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungi have been extensively researched taxonomically over many years, and phylogenetically in recent years, but the biology of the relationship between the invading fungus and the lichen host has received limited attention, as has the effects on the chemistry of the host, being difficult to examine in situ. Raman spe...
Hawksworth, D. L., Halıcı, M. G., Kocakaya, Z. & Kocakaya, M. 2016. Henfellra muriformis gen. et sp. nov., a new dictyosporous pycnidial fungus on Candelariella, with a key to the lichenicolous fungi known from that genus. — Herzogia 29: 329–336.
The new generic name Henfellra gen. nov. is introduced for a new species of pycnidial fungus with hyali...