Editorial and reflection.

The mycological journal (SiM) was established by the late CBS director Johann Adolf von Arx in September 1972 and has evolved from a publication with taxonomic monographs with irregular appearance to a professional journal. Deviating from the practice of previous years when the Studies in Mycology (SiM) appeared once a year, the editorial board decided in 2005 that:

▸ SiM would in future publish three issues per year;

▸ SiM would only accept papers that deal with fungal cultures, and/or fungal DNA, which should be deposited at CBS to be optimally accessible to the scientific community;

▸ SiM would publish papers by invitation or if a volume or special topic was supported by one of its associate editors;

▸ SiM would move to a print-on-demand system that allows to incorporate full colour throughout the journal at reasonable costs, making SiM the first mycological journal to do so;

▸ SiM would be effectively linked to MycoBank (www.MycoBank.org), which facilitates the incorporation of additional data and illustrations that are not printed in the journal itself.

This policy has resulted in the publication of an issue focusing on Antarctic fungi and evolution under extreme conditions (De Hoog et al. 2005, Selbmann ), an issue focusing on the phylogeny and morphology of Cytospora species and related teleomorphs (Adams ), and a third issue focusing on the missing lineages, namely the taxonomy and ecology of sterile endophytic root-associated fungi (Hambleton & Sigler 2005, Hambleton , Mandyam & Jumpponen 2005, Rice & Currah 2005a, b, Sigler & Gibas 2005, Sigler , Summerbell 2005a, b, Zettler , Zijlstra ). In the latter issue molecular techniques were indispensable to resolve the missing lineages of sterile root-inhabiting fungi and root-associated fungi such as Oidiodendron, Meliniomyces, Leohumicola, and Cryptosporiopsis.

Studies in Mycology: current status and future prospects

In 2006 we successfully continued with the policy of publishing three issues per year, but in accordance to the open access policy of the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences, SiM chose to make its papers freely available, though hard copies will still be sold via its online CBS WebShop. Furthermore, SiM sees itself as developing as a high-impact journal focusing on monographs and revisions and, under special circumstances, introducing specific topical issues. In this regard, SiM strives to publish monographs and books formerly published in the Mycological Papers series (CABI), or the Mycologia Memoirs series of the Mycological Society of America. A high content of well founded taxonomic novelties is criterion for acceptance. Besides intensive in-house editorial treatment, each issue is reviewed by two external referees.

Effectively SiM should eventually become a journal that is seamlessly linked to regular online mycological journals such as Mycological Research and Mycologia, as well as MycoBank, GenBank, the CBS culture collection, and online herbaria, to name but a few.

February 2007 saw the first issues of SiM appearing online via HighWire Press. During 2007, we shall apply for inclusion in PubMed, which would further assist us in our goal to freely distribute published mycological literature, and to help promote mycology internationally.

Special issues of 2006

SIM 54: Taxonomy and Pathology of Togninia (Diaporthales) and its Phaeoacremonium anamorphs

Since the genus Phaeoacremonium W. Gams, Crous & M.J. Wingfield was described in 1996, the genus has been conclusively linked to phaeohyphomycosis of humans, as well as Petri disease and brown wood streaking of grapevines, a disease complex that is the topic of biennial meetings by the International Council of Grapevine Trunk Diseases. Phaeoacremonium was shown to comprise anamorphs of the genus Togninia (Diaporthales, Togniniaceae); it was monographed by Mostert et al. (2006), who treated 10 Togninia and 22 Phaeoacremonium species. Furthermore, several new species of Togninia and Phaeoacremonium were introduced, along with a polyphasic online identification key. The mating strategy of several Togninia species was investigated, showing several taxa to be homothallic, while others had a biallelic heterothallic mating system. The Togniniaceae was shown to be part of the Diaporthales, while the Calosphaeriales and the Pleurostomataceae clustered in the Calosphaeriales.

SIM 55: 100 Years of Fungal Biodiversity in southern Africa

The centenary of the National Collection of Fungi in South Africa was the incentive for a special celebratory volume of SiM, focusing on some current fungal research activities underway in southern Africa. Furthermore, it also led to the digitalization of “Doidge 1950” [The South African Fungi and Lichens to the end of 1945, Bothalia 5: 1–1094], which made all these old fungal records available online. This set the stage for papers treating the history of the National Collection of Fungi (Rong & Baxter 2006), and another one speculating about the number of fungal species that exist at the tip of Africa (Crous ). Several disease and saprobic fungal complexes on Eucalyptus trees were treated (Cortinas , Crous et al. 2006e, f, g, de Beer , Gryzenhout , Hunter ). Indigenous fungi on rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) (Van Rensburg ), Restionaceae (Lee ), Proteaceae (Roets ), Myrtales (Nakabonge ), and Zizyphus (Maier ), also received attention, along with soil-inhabiting genera such as Cylindrocladium (Crous ), and Cylindrocarpon (Halleen ). Furthermore, Zhou et al. (2006) and Zipfel et al. (2006) treated the genus Ophiostoma, and reinstated Grossmania as distinct from Ceratocystiopsis. Two major Mycosphaerella disease complexes were treated by Crous et al. (2006a, c), showing that one species of Pseudocercospora griseola with two formae was associated with angular leaf spot of bean, but several species of Cercospora were associated with grey leaf spot of maize.

SIM 56: Hypocrea and Trichoderma studies marking the 90th birthday of Joan M. Dingley

A special issue of SiM was dedicated to Joan M. Dingley on the occasion of her 90th birthday. Joan Dingley received international status as mycologist for her excellent monographic work dealing with the Hypocreales of New Zealand. This special issue consists of four papers focusing on Trichoderma and their Hypocrea teleomorphs (Jaklitsch , Overton et al. 2006a, b, Samuels ). Overton et al. (2006a, b) dealt with some conspicuous, mainly fungicolous Hypocrea species which have inconspicuous anamorphs. Samuels et al. (2006) (T. koningii clade) and Jaklitsch (T. viride clade) dealt with some of the commonest, but very complex species, in which the Trichoderma anamorph outweighs the teleomorph in ecological success and differentiation. These groups include some important biocontrol agents.