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Diversity
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Fungal Diversity—2nd Edition
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Fungal Diversity—2nd Edition

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbial Diversity and Culture Collections".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 2149

Editor

Prof. Dr. Samantha C. Karunarathna

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Yunnan Plateau Biological Resources Protection and Utilization & Yunnan International Joint Laboratory of Fungal Sustainable Utilization in South and Southeast Asia, College of Biology and Food Engineering, Qujing Normal University, Qujing 655099, China
Interests: Ascomycota; Basidiomycota; fungal biotechnology; fungal phylogeny; fungal taxonomy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fungi are a group of organisms with a high level of diversity and are well known as the second most biodiverse taxon after insects. It is therefore challenging to map global fungal diversity compared to other organisms. In various ecosystems, fungi are found as pathogens, decomposers, and mutualists, and are of significant ecological value, as they impact nearly every component of ecosystem services. In most cases, the role of individual fungi in nature remains unknown. Despite the fungal diversity that science has revealed and their innumerable roles in ecology, environmental health, and industrial applications, much about these unique organisms remains a mystery.

This topic will cover all aspects of fungi, ranging from taxonomy and phylogeny to pathology, toxicology, ecology, and biotechnology. Both original and review articles are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Samantha C. Karunarathna
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • applications of fungi
  • Ascomycota
  • Basidiomycota
  • biocontrol agents
  • biodegradation
  • biodegradation
  • biotechnology
  • fungal ecology
  • fungal pathogens
  • fungal phylogeny
  • fungal taxonomy
  • fungal toxins
  • next-generation sequencing
  • secondary metabolites

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 2010 KB  
Article
Morphological and Molecular Identification of New Puccinia Species from Qinghai, China
by Lin Qi, Qi Xu, Yang Zhang, Luchao Bai, Yingtai Cao and Weidong Zhang
Diversity 2026, 18(8), 487; https://doi.org/10.3390/d18080487 - 14 Aug 2026
Viewed by 85
Abstract
Rust fungi of the genus Puccinia are important plant pathogens responsible for substantial economic losses in agriculture and forestry. During field surveys conducted in Qinghai Province, China, a novel rust species, Puccinia ligulari-przewalskii, was discovered parasitizing Ligularia przewalskii. Morphological characteristics of [...] Read more.
Rust fungi of the genus Puccinia are important plant pathogens responsible for substantial economic losses in agriculture and forestry. During field surveys conducted in Qinghai Province, China, a novel rust species, Puccinia ligulari-przewalskii, was discovered parasitizing Ligularia przewalskii. Morphological characteristics of its teliospores were examined using light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on the concatenated internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit (LSU) ribosomal DNA sequences supported its taxonomic distinction as a new species within the genus Puccinia. Phylogenetic reconstructions inferred from maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference showed that the new species forms a distinct, well-supported lineage, clustering as sister to a clade comprising Puccinia argentata and Puccinia komarovii. P. ligulari-przewalskii is characterized by two-celled, spindle-shaped teliospores exhibiting sparse verrucose ornamentation on the spore wall. Only the telial stage was observed across multi-year surveys, and the complete life cycle remains to be determined. This study contributes to the taxonomic knowledge of rust fungi in China and underscores the ecological and phytopathological significance of rust fungi in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Diversity—2nd Edition)
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17 pages, 2671 KB  
Article
Mixed-Planting Mode Is Associated with Distinct Bacterial and Fungal Assembly Patterns in Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica Plantations
by Zihao Li, Zhuofan Li, Guangyu Hong, Xiaowei Gao, Haifeng Yang, Lei Liu, Chenming Liu, Zheng Wang, Yongning Hu and Long Hai
Diversity 2026, 18(5), 301; https://doi.org/10.3390/d18050301 - 18 May 2026
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Abstract
Mixed plantations of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica with native shrubs are widely established in semiarid sandy landscapes, yet soil microbial responses may differ among mixed-planting modes depending on the companion shrub species. We compared soil bacterial and fungal communities across three approximately 9-year-old [...] Read more.
Mixed plantations of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica with native shrubs are widely established in semiarid sandy landscapes, yet soil microbial responses may differ among mixed-planting modes depending on the companion shrub species. We compared soil bacterial and fungal communities across three approximately 9-year-old mixed-planting modes in the Mu Us Sandy Land, where P. sylvestris var. mongolica was combined with Juniperus sabina (Ps–Js), Salix psammophila (Ps–Sp), or Corethrodendron fruticosum (Ps–Cf). Planting configuration was associated with shifts in soil physicochemical conditions. Bacterial α-diversity did not differ among modes, whereas fungal α-diversity was higher in Ps–Sp. Community composition diverged across modes for both domains, and LEfSe identified configuration-specific taxa. Null-model analyses showed that bacterial assembly was consistently dominated by stochastic components, whereas the relative contributions of fungal assembly processes varied among mixed-planting modes. Functional inference further suggested mode-associated differences in fungal trophic guild composition, with Ps–Cf showing significantly higher ectomycorrhizal abundance and Ps–Sp showing higher representation of saprotroph-associated guilds; by contrast, predicted bacterial functional profiles were broadly comparable among modes. Together, these results indicate that bacterial and fungal communities showed different response patterns among mixed-planting modes: bacterial communities showed compositional differentiation but little variation in α-diversity and consistently stochastic assembly, whereas fungal communities showed mode-related changes in α-diversity, the relative contributions of assembly processes, and trophic guild composition. These findings provide a microbial basis for considering shrub-species selection when designing P. sylvestris var. mongolica mixed plantations in semiarid sandy ecosystems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Diversity—2nd Edition)
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30 pages, 7870 KB  
Article
Diversity of Cultivable Soil Fungal Taxa Across a Land-Use Gradient in the Andes–Amazon Transition Zone: Insights from Agroecological Systems
by Armando Sterling, Karla V. Arboleda-Gasca, Yerson D. Suárez-Córdoba, Ginna P. Velasco-Anacona, Carlos Ciceri-Coronado and Carlos H. Rodríguez-León
Diversity 2026, 18(3), 138; https://doi.org/10.3390/d18030138 - 26 Feb 2026
Viewed by 1162
Abstract
Land-use change strongly affects soil microbiota, yet the role of agroecological systems in shaping soil fungal communities remains poorly understood in tropical soils. We evaluated the diversity, trophic modes, community composition, and co-occurrence networks of culturable soil fungal taxa across a land-use gradient [...] Read more.
Land-use change strongly affects soil microbiota, yet the role of agroecological systems in shaping soil fungal communities remains poorly understood in tropical soils. We evaluated the diversity, trophic modes, community composition, and co-occurrence networks of culturable soil fungal taxa across a land-use gradient in the Colombian Andes–Amazon transition zone. Agroecological systems—including improved pasture (IP), cacao and copoazu agroforestry systems (CaAS and CoAS), secondary forest with agroforestry enrichment (SFAE), and a moriche palm swamp ecosystem (MPSE)—were compared with dominant land-uses (degraded pasture, DP and old-growth forest, OF). Fungi were isolated using the soil dilution plate method and identified based on morphological and molecular characteristics, and soil physicochemical properties were measured to evaluate their relationships with fungal community patterns. A total of 420 isolates were assigned to 93 fungal species. Alpha-diversity metrics revealed significantly higher fungal richness in OF and MPSE, and higher Shannon diversity in agroforestry and forest-based systems, whereas DP exhibited the lowest values. Ordination analyses showed clear differences in fungal community composition, with CoAS displaying the most distinct assemblage. Agroecological and forest-based systems favored saprotrophic and symbiotrophic modes. Co-occurrence network analyses indicated that MPSE, OF, and IP supported more complex and modular fungal networks. Soil pH and total phosphorus (TP) were key drivers of fungal community composition, whereas exchangeable calcium, TP, soil organic carbon, and base saturation were associated with network attributes. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of agroecological management for soil fungal diversity and network organization in Amazonian transition landscapes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Diversity—2nd Edition)
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