The Current Status of Globisporangium Species in Iran: From Pythium sensu lato to Newly Described Species

The genus Globisporangium is a newly described taxon that has been recently separated from Pythium sensu lato. Although not many studies focused on isolating species assigned to this genus from Iran, some comprehensive studies showed that Globisporangium is an important genus with vast distribution in this part of the world. Even rare species assigned to Globisporangium have also been found in the country. Despite the importance of this genus, accurate identification and classification of Globisporangium is quite challenging worldwide. Morphological identification of Globisporangium is quite difficult due to the lack of identification keys, overlapping of some morphological features, the existence of species complexes, pleomorphism, and the absence of certain structures in some species. Furthermore, there is no universal DNA barcode for Globisporangium species yet, and most species cannot be delimitated using only one or two loci for the phylogenetic analyses. Besides, some studies in Iran do not include molecular investigations to support their morphological identification or make it possible to reidentify the reported species. Having no accurate checklist of the current species in the country also adds up to the problem. This review focuses on the current systematics of Globisporangium species in Iran, emphasizing the challenges in the morphological and molecular identification of the species in the country; it also proposes and discusses some solutions to resolve these problems.