Fungi, with an estimated 2-6 million species, represent a vast and diverse group; yet, less than 5% of them have been described. They are essential for maintaining ecosystem health and stability, contributing to nutrient cycling, forming symbiotic relationships, facilitating decomposition, and supporting various other ecological processes. Some fungi are pathogenic and can cause severe diseases in plants, animals, and humans.
Accurate identification of fungi from environmental and clinical samples is crucial for understanding the causes and consequences of environmental changes and for developing appropriate treatments for fungal diseases. This process, however, can be challenging due to the lack of comprehensive reference data and the vast number of environmental samples being generated with the rapid development of sequencing technologies, which requires computational methods that can identify fungi quickly and accurately.
In my talk, I will present the fungal DNA barcode dataset generated at the Westerdijk Institute, which won the Dutch Data Prize in 2022 in the Life Sciences category for fungal identification. Additionally, I will discuss several computational methods, including AI techniques, that we have developed and applied to enhance fungal identification from environmental and clinical samples using DNA barcodes and whole fungal genomes.
There will be a 35-min presentation followed by a 15-min in-depth discussion.
