Colletotrichum systematics: Past, present and prospects

Colletotrichum is one of the serious plant pathogens, with worldwide distribution, causing anthracnose in economically important crops. Every year many research papers and reports are published on Colletotrichum phylogeny and taxonomy. Many novel Colletotrichum species have been described based on morphological characters and multi-locus phylogenetic analysis. There is, however, a need to develop a consensus among researchers on the gene sets to be used in sequence based identification and resolution of cryptic species of Colletotrichum. Though a polyphasic approach is recommended, it is not fully enforced in many publications. In this paper, the methods prevalent in Colletotrichum systematics are discussed, which is followed by our suggestions towards developing a stable and reliable classification system for Colletotrichum.