November 2025 AMS virtual seminar: Prof Sajeewa Maharachchikumbura, on fungal taxonomy!

We invite you to attend our upcoming AMS virtual seminar. This month, we're excited to feature Prof Sajeewa Maharachchikumbura, a Research Professor at the University

of Electronic Science and Technology of China. Sajeewa was an awardee of the IMA Young Mycologist Award for Asia at the IMC12 conference last year.

Seeing the whole picture from slide mounts to whole genomes in Pestalotiopsis

 Prof Sajeewa Maharachchikumbura

School of Life Science and Technology,

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Thursday, 27 November 2025

1 pm (AEST) / 3 pm (NZST) 

Register here

Summary

Pestalotiopsis represents a taxonomically challenging group of fungi. Historically, inter- and intra-specific relationships within the genus remained unclear due to reliance on host association and morphology-based classification. Subsequent studies improved taxonomic resolution using key morphological traits and multiple gene regions, leading to the segregation of Neopestalotiopsis and Pseudopestalotiopsis from Pestalotiopsis. Over 300 species have been described in the past decade, with links to more than 150 new plant diseases and the discovery of over 200 novel secondary metabolites. More recent research using multi-gene phylogenies, whole-genome data, and advanced species delimitation approaches has further refined their taxonomy and proposed major synonymizations. Nevertheless, taxonomic confusion persists due to poor-quality sequence data, superficial species descriptions, gene tree incongruence, morphological plasticity, and limited population-level sampling. Join Sajeewa as he revisits this complex history, presenting Pestalotiopsis as a model genus to understand taxonomic complexity in plant-pathogenic genera and sharing insights on how we can move forward.

About Sajeewa

Sajeewa Maharachchikumbura is a Research Professor at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. His research focuses on the higher-level classification of Sordariomycetes, species delimitation in cryptic plant pathogenic genera, and the development of early warning systems for detecting devastating plant pathogens. He has been recognised as a Highly Cited Researcher in Plant and Animal Science since 2018 by Clarivate Analytics (Web of Science), received the Young Asian Mycologist Award from the Asian Mycological Association in 2017, and was awarded the Keisuke Tubaki Medal by the International Mycological Association in 2024. Sajeewa serves on the editorial boards of several journals, including Fungal Diversity, IMA Fungus, and the New Zealand Journal of Botany. Sajeewa was awarded an IMA Young Mycologist Award for Asia at the IMC12 conference last year.