Taxonomy
Kingdom: Fungi
This kingdom is currently divided into seven phyla (beyond the scope of this course). What is most important to realize is that the taxonomy of fungi is constantly evolving. Historically, classification has been based on the morphology of the organism. Of importance:
- The rise of molecular testing (specifically, DNA sequencing) has led to confusion in assigning new classifications and nomenclature. The associated application, the phylogenetic approach to species recognition (PSR) concept, relies on comparing nucleic acid characteristics to define species. Pneumocystis is one such example - this organism, once classified as a parasite, is now classified as a yeast-like fungus.
- Multiple names may be assigned to the same organism. For example, the anamorph (asexual stage) versus the teleomorph (sexual stage) of some yeasts may be confused. Candida ciferrii is the anamorphic species name, while Trichomonascus ciferrii is the teleomorphic name.2
2. Carroll, K., Pfaller, M., Landry, M., McAdam, A., Patel, R., Richter, S., & Warnock, D., (Eds.). (2019). Manual of Clinical Microbiology. (12th ed.) ASM Press; 2019.
