Statistics

Hi All-

The discussion on the rice blast fungus name continues but voting closed on September 30 (yesterday).  I post the statistics below for your information. 

Dear Marc Henri,

Please forward this message to J-L Nottéghem-

We all agree that widely used names should not be changed before careful evaluation and thorough discussion, and that is why we are here discussing this issue in the past several months. 

The reason that Magnaporthe is not the right generic name for the rice blast fungus is not because of the new nomenclature, but because recent analysis based on DNA sequences, morphological, and ecological characters all  indicate that the rice blast fungus is different from the true Magnaporthe--the rice stem rot fungus (M. salvinii).  Unless we conserve Magnaporthe for the rice blast fungus, a name change is needed.

Regarding the change of fungal nomenclature-

Izumi Chuma's slides for IRBC

Please VOTE NOW - update

Rice Blast Fungus Name -- Magnaporthe or Pyricularia?  (31 March 2013)

The asexual genus name Pyricularia has been used for the rice blast fungus since 1892.  Based on morphological similarity, the sexual state of the rice blast fungus was believed to belong to Magnaporthe, and was named as Magnaporthe oryzae in 2002.   However, recent phylogenetic analyses from different labs all demonstrated that the rice blast fungus does not belong to Magnaporthe.  Therefore, a name change is needed.  The new fungal nomenclature requires One Name for One Fungus, and the asexual state names are now treated equally as the sexual state names.  As the oldest and legitimate generic name for the rice blast fungus, Pyricularia has the priority.  However, because this fungus is a widely used model system and has large impacts, researchers from all over the world have been discussing this name issue since April 2012 in the CBS One Fungus, Which Name symposium at Amsterdam.  The most recent discuss was at the Asilomar Fungal Genetics Conference in March 2013.  A summary of the reasons for using Pyricularia vs. Magnaporthe is listed below.