DNA sequence-based identification of Fusarium: Current status and future directions

Fusarium ranks as one of the worlds most economically destructive and species-rich groups of mycotoxigenic plant pathogens. These ubiquitous molds produce a plethora of toxic secondary metabolites, such as trichothecenes, zearalenone, fumonisins, and enniatins, which pose a significant threat to agricultural biosecurity, food safety, and plant, human and animal health. Fusarial-induced diseases of virtually every economically important plant cost the global agricultural economy multi-billion euro losses annually. Moreover, phylogenetically diverse fusaria, including plant pathogens, cause infections in humans, with those involving the cornea and nails being the most common.