Recognition of seven species in the Cryptococcus gattii/Cryptococcus neoformans species complex

•Cryptococcus neoformans is a complex of important human pathogens.•We provide evidence that at least seven species occur in the species complex.•The seven species are described, together with information on occurrence, epidemiology, virulence and host ranges.•MALDI-TOF MS can identify all seven species. Phylogenetic analysis of 11 genetic loci and results from many genotyping studies revealed significant genetic diversity with the pathogenic Cryptococcus gattii/Cryptococcus neoformans species complex. Genealogical concordance, coalescence-based, and species tree approaches supported the presence of distinct and concordant lineages within the complex. Consequently, we propose to recognize the current C. neoformans var. grubii and C. neoformans var. neoformans as separate species, and five species within C. gattii. The type strain of C. neoformans CBS132 represents a serotype AD hybrid and is replaced. The newly delimited species differ in aspects of pathogenicity, prevalence for patient groups, as well as biochemical and physiological aspects, such as susceptibility to antifungals. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry readily distinguishes the newly recognized species.