New norms needed to name never-seen fungi
May 2021, phys.org
There's 150,000 species of fungi known, yet a projected 2.2 to 3.8 million still waiting to be discovered (these are called dark taxa). But because of advances in DNA sequencing and microscopy, we're learning so fast that we need a new way to organize it all.
This comes up in the context of biosecurity, where it can only work if "organisms detected can be reliably identified and have accurate names." For fungi, that's not really possible, because believe it or not, we don't have a good catalog of fungi.
-via: Robert Lücking et al. Fungal taxonomy and sequence-based nomenclature, Nature Microbiology (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-021-00888-x
We also don't have a good way to organize the words we use to describe everyday smells, and we don't have something like a "smell taxonomy." There are plenty of sub-domains that organize their relevant smells, found in subjects like coffee, wine, perfume, and culinary arts. They always seem to take the form of a wheel (not the most complex form). You can get a good start with everyday smells at the South Coast Air Quality Management District, who created a "Characterization of Odor Nuisance" odor wheel, with the help of environmental scientist Jane Curren at UCLA circa 2016. It was based on a bunch of phone calls made to the District where people were complaining about odors in their neighborhood. She took all the words they used and organized them.
You could also look into Ann-Sophie Barwich who is a cognitive scientist who did her dissertion on olfactory categorization, and then wrote a book called Smellosophy. Probably one of the most interesting academics you will ever hear of. I mean, her master's thesis was about the relevance of Leibniz causality on biological classification.
Image credit: Penicillin, Kew Royal Botanical Gardens for BBC
Notes:
State of the World's Fungi, by the Kew Royal Botanical Gardens (2018), is the first ever State of the World's Fungi report revealing how important fungi are to all life on Earth. [pdf]
[State of the World's Fungi]
International Commission on the Taxonomy of Fungi (ICTF)
MycoBank is the on-line repository and nomenclatural registry provided in collaboration between the International Mycological Association and the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute. It provides a free service to the mycological and scientific society by databasing mycological nomenclatural novelties (new names and combinations) and associated data, such as descriptions, illustrations and DNA barcodes. Nomenclatural novelties are each allocated a unique MycoBank number to be cited in the publication where the nomenclatural novelty is introduced, to conform with the requirements of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants.
Identification and quantification of nuisance odors at a trash transfer station. Jane Curren, et al. PubMed, Waste Manag. 2016 Dec;58:52-61. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2016.09.021. Epub 2016 Sep 28.
Post Script:
I'm looking at a popular science article about fungi. The first two "interesting" points, when looked at together, remind me of why I always have the feeling like fungi are from outerspace:
- Fungi are in a kingdom of their own but are closer to animals than plants
- They have chemicals in their cell walls shared with lobsters and crabs (you do know we're all becoming crabs, right?)
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