How good are we at describing a new fungal species? A case study based on the family Botryosphaeriaceae ( Dothideomycetes )

Best practices for describing a new fungal species are a topic often discussed by several authors. However, to our knowledge, no studies have evaluated the quality of standards used for publication of new taxa. We selected a list of 210 representatives of the family Botryosphaeriaceae , and their descriptions were evaluated and scored according to a set of questions divided in five major topics: morphological characterization; molecular characterization; phylogenetic analysis; host-fungus interactions; and information accessibility. Based on our definition of best available practices, we found that over 90% of the descriptions include a detailed morphological characterization and consistent phylogenetic analyses; for molecular characterization and host-fungus interactions, 60% of the descriptions are outdated or only meet the minimal requirements for publication and 50% of the authors do not provide enough accessible and reproducible information. We verified that there is still room for improvement and the lack of formal standards over time do not follow a steady progress. Establishing well-defined best practices for new fungal species descriptions is crucial to ensure reproducibility, transparency, and consistency over time. Our goal is to raise awareness on what should be the minimal quality standards to describe a new fungal species within the Botryosphaeriaceae family.