[Dynamic diversity of dermatophytes]

Abstract

Background: Many dermatologists do not understand the perpetual adjustments in the dermatophyte nomenclature.

Objectives: The aim is to explain the background and the development of methods that have led to previous and current changes of dermatophyte taxonomy and to the detection of new dermatophytes.

Methods: In this article we evaluate the recent literature on this topic and our own results in the fields of dermatophyte identification, their detection, and of the associated taxonomic developments.

Results: Today, the phylogenetic species concept is the basis of taxonomic classification, including that of dermatophytes. Genetic techniques have decisively advanced this and are state of the art nowadays. The detection of new dermatophyte species was often triggered by clinical observations and by morphologically conspicuous cultures that prompted their subsequent exact mycological characterization. Even today not all species of dermatophytes are unequivocally defined.

Conclusions: By exclusively using selected genetic characteristics for the construction of phylogenetic trees additional taxonomically relevant features are neglected. Therefore it is necessary to better integrate data derived from morphologic, physiologic, ecologic and pathophysiologic observations into phylogenetic analyses. Dermatologists are still asked to contribute such information.

Keywords: Genetic analysis; Mycological characterization; Phylogenetic species concept; Species; Taxonomy.