Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #95665

Title: NEW SYSTEM FOR DATABASES AT THE NATIONAL FUNGUS COLLECTIONS.

Author
item Farr, David
item Rossman, Amy

Submitted to: Phytopathology News
Publication Type: Popular Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Thousands of kinds of fungi attack agricultural and horticultural plants yet information about these fungi is difficult to find. Databases at the U.S. National Fungus Collections of the USDA Agricultural Research Service have been developed that provide access to information about fungi on plants. This publication is an announcement of a new system for accessing these databases over the Internet through the Home Page of the Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory. The databases provide access to information about economically important plants as well as reports and specimens of fungi on plants from all over the world. As new fungi are reported in the literature, this information is added to the databases. This publication will be used by plant pathologists, plant diagnosticians, extension agents, and plant quarantine officials who need to identify or determine the host and geographic distribution of a plant-associated fungus.

Technical Abstract: Databases developed at the U.S. National Fungus Collections provide access to information about fungi, primarily fungi associated with plants of agricultural importance. The databases can be accessed directly through this Web site. Under Systematic Resources, there is an option for Databases. The accurate scientific name of the crop or host plants can be located through use of the Plant Names option under Plants. Under Fungi, the most direct route to all of the fungal databases is to select Computer Databases where the data Fungi on Plant and Plant Products in the United States and the databases of the fungal specimens in the U.S. National Fungus Collections. A Host-Fungus database consists of reports of fungi on vascular plant hosts from both inside and outside the United States and includes over 340,000 reports of about 62,000 fungal species on 14,500 plant hosts from 408 localities throughout the world. Records are being continuously entered as new publications are received. The Literature database includes all important references on systematics of fungi of agricultural importance. At present more than 25,000 references have been entered; this database is continuously updated. Two databases for locating the original publication of fungal names are available.