ISHAM - Working Group Black Yeasts

Dear Friends,

We are planning to found a Working Group Black Yeasts, possibly under the umbrella of the International Society for Human and Animal Mycology (ISHAM). The aim of this network is to bring together the very diverse and highly scattered information and knowledge on black yeasts and related fungi. Scientists, clinicians and workers in applied fields have a wealth of information on these fungi, which is currently hardly accessible. This information covers clinical aspects, diseases on cold-blooded animals and insects, fungi growing on rock under extreme climatic conditions, black yeasts used in bioremediation of polluted environments, black yeasts in drinking water, susceptibility testing, animal models, molecular evolution and ecology, etc. We wish to combine these data and bring workers interested in black yeasts together, as we may learn a lot from each other. Above all, we can build up a consortium with sufficient critical mass and impact to stimulate sequencing of some entire genomes of black yeasts. The availability of genome data will enormously boost diagnostics, ecology and virulence studies.

As a model of our Network, we have a good example in the working groups of ECMM, which are quite successful. For the black yeasts I think ISHAM is the right vehicle, because this society has a worldwide coverage. ISHAM can help us to make publicity, provide facilities and networking, and has the means to provide personal grants and sponsoring of workshops. Symposia can be organized at major mycological congresses. Basically ISHAM is a society with a medical focus, but since black yeasts are environmental opportunists, information outside a clinical setting is equally significant.

The concept of Working Groups in general will be launched at the next ISHAM meeting in Paris, June 2006. We might start with a simple e-mail newsletter. We will go on air with a website very soon. Then, we need an inaugural meeting. This meeting will be held at CBS, Utrecht, The Netherlands, early 2007. At this workshop all participants will have the opportunity to introduce themselves and their research interests. A subsequent workshop with fresh research data will then be organized in China, late 2007. More precise announcements of both workshops will follow.

Participation in the Network is open to everybody with interest in black yeasts and related organisms, see the list below and please let me know if I forgot anyone. I would appreciate any comments and suggestions. It will be a great pleasure to cooperate with all of you.

Finally, I would like to ask everyone to help to give our Working Group a strong profile. You can do this in several ways. First, I attach a logo, which you may use on all your presentations, and the banner that will be the heading of our website but can also be used as letterhead. Then, I would like to ask everyone to mention the following text as a footnote in every future publication:

*Communication of the ISHAM Working Group on Black Yeasts (www.blackyeast.org).

I thank you for your interest and cooperation. I trust that in the near future our Working Group will become a giant in this field.

Kind regards, Sybren de Hoog