Editorial: Biodiversity and conservation of fungi and fungus-like organisms

The second species-richest group after insects, fungi and fungus-like organisms, play essential roles as saprotrophs, mutualists, and parasites and pathogens. Fungi thrive in almost every ecosystem on earth; the total number of fungal species has been estimated at 1.5 to 6 million However, only 148,000 species, less than 10% of the estimated diversity, are formally described In addition, knowledge is incomplete even for the named species, as their geographic distributions and host ranges are often not fully understood. Finally, phylogenetic relationships among fungi, especially early diverging lineages, lack support and are continuously amended (Naranjo-Ortiz and Gabaldo, 2019; Wijayawardene et al., 2020). These knowledge gaps limit the utilization of fungal resources and the development of pathogenic and parasitic fungi as part of integrated biological control strategies. They also hamper conservation efforts

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