Chiang Mai Journal of Science

Special Issue : Changes in the understanding of fungal diversity based on research in the tropics

Types of manuscript: Manuscripts may be submitted in the form of - Review Articles - Research Papers must be clearly and concisely written in English.

Special Issue Editor : Emeritus Prof. Dr. Kevin D. Hyde Center of Excellence in Fungal Research Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand

Special Issue Associate Editor: Dr. Nakarin Suwannarach Office of Research Administration, Chiang Mai University,Thailand

Fungi represent one of the world’s eukaryotic kingdoms with between 2.2 to 3.8 million species. Although about 120,000 species have already been described, number of recent studies have shown that the diversity of fungi may exceed previous estimates. Bearing in mind the essential roles that fungi play in the various ecosystems, it is important to investigate fungal diversity and to understand the roles that fungi play. During the last years, using morphological and molecular approaches, new fungal species have been described, but the presence of cryptic species or species complexes has frequently led to overestimated geographic distributions of certain taxa.

Tropics are considered the diversity hotspot for well-studied terrestrial organisms, such as amphibians, birds, mammals, plants or reptiles. However, knowledge regarding fungal diversity and distributions is still not well-studied. The increasing complexity of the fungal species concepts, as well as the complex speciation process and evolution demand the integration of genetic analysis and phenotype-based studies to build an accurate taxonomy. In the last century, tropical fungi have been recorded by mycologists, but identified only by their morphological characteristics. Of these, most have previously been found in temperate areas and there may have been incidences of mis-classification because tropical mycota are poorly understood. This special Issue welcomes outstanding contributions addressing the taxonomy, diversity, ecology, evolution, and biogeography of fungi in the tropics.

Keywords: Fungal diversity and biogeography; Fungal taxonomy and systematics; Interactions of fungus with other organisms; Tropical fungi