Abstract
Clonal reproduction is common in fungi and fungal-like organisms during epidemics and invasion events. The success of clonal fungi shaped systems for their classification and some pathogens are tacitly treated as asexual. We argue that genetic recombination driven by sexual reproduction must be a starting hypothesis when dealing with fungi for two reasons: (1) Clones eventually crash because they lack adaptability; and (2) fungi find a way to exchange genetic material through recombination, whether sexual, parasexual, or hybridisation. Successful clones may prevail over space and time, but they are the product of recombination and the next successful clone will inevitably appear. Fungal pathogen populations are dynamic rather than static, and they need genetic recombination to adapt to a changing environment.
Highlights
Clonal reproduction is common in fungi and fungal-like organisms during epidemics and invasion events
Epidemics of fungal pathogens in natural ecosystems and agriculture often involve founder effects whereby the invasion event is caused by a single genotype of a pathogen (Morgan et al 2007; Rajkumar et al 2011; Henk et al 2012; Ordonez et al 2015; Drees et al 2017)
Founder effects combined with the ability of fungi to reproduce clonally have played a role in the common assumption that populations of many fungal pathogens are clonal
Summary
Clonal reproduction is common in fungi and fungal-like organisms during epidemics and invasion events. Most fungal species encountering a new environment need to produce large numbers of spores that invade and disperse to increase the probability of successful establishment, and this favours polycyclic fungi with an asexual stage producing large numbers of spores (Horsfall 1972; McDonald and Linde 2002; Gladieux et al 2015; Taylor et al 2015). Invasions often involve significant genetic bottlenecks, whereby small populations or clones establish and cause disease in new environments.
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