The importance of DNA sequencing on taxonomy of the genus Cladosporium

Cladosporium is one of the largest hyphomycetous genera that the species of its are distinguishable fromallied genera by having coronate conidial hila. By introducing the new concept of Cladosporium, thetaxonomy of this genus has changed and in many papers, various species have been re-examined anddescribed. Finely, these studies have led to publish a monograph of this genus, viz "the genus Cladosporium"by Bensch et al. in ۲۰۱۲. Due to limitation in the use of morphological traits, identification of most speciesare difficult. In recent decays, the use of DNA-based methods such as DNA barcoding has played a great rolein identification of species especially cryptic species in most fungal groups. According numerous studies,molecular data has led to the description of new species in the genus Cladosporium. Considering the newconcept of Cladosporium, taxonomy of this genus has started using morphological and molecular data inIran, and these studies will be continued until reaching a comprehensive monograph.

Keywords:

DNA barcoding , identification , molecular data , new species