The Black Yeasts and Allies

After several years of silence, the black yeast community will reunite at a moment of rapid discovery and fresh challenges. You are invited to join the workshop Black Yeasts – Chaetothyriales Working Group Workshop 2026 – IRTA organized in Barcelona, Spain, 22−23 October, 2026. From newly resolved species complexes and cryptic lineages reshaping ecology and phylogenetics, to evolving clinical threats that press our diagnostics and antifungal strategies, and biotechnological breakthroughs in extremotolerance, bioremediation, and enzyme discovery, chaetothyrialean fungi are rewriting the script at every turn.

This workshop aims to reconnect clinicians, taxonomists, environmental microbiologists, and applied scientists to compare notes on what has changed, and what still resists explanation. Expect state-of-the-art lectures, lively debate on persistent grey zones (species boundaries, susceptibility testing, environmental reservoirs), and concrete plans for collaborative projects that can move our field from tantalizing hints to testable, reproducible solutions. Growing evidence links chaetothyrialean fungi to toxin- and metallotolerance in both natural and polluted environments, with clear relevance for bioremediation. Recent data show that dark septate endophytes (DSEs) often appear to be chaetothyrialean. The remarkable ecological abilities of Chaeothyriales are key to explain their significance in severe human infections.

The meeting will provide a discussion-friendly environment designed to strengthen collaborations and shape future research directions in Chaetothyriales studies, hosted in the historic and architecturally remarkable setting in the heart of Barcelona.

The black yeast community is organized in the ISHAM Working Groups Black Yeasts and Chromoblastomycosis. A report of the meeting will be published in the journal ‘One Health Mycology’, followed by submitted abstracts. Abstracts will undergo single-blind review by the Scientific Committee based on scientific quality, relevance, and balanced representation of topics and career stages. Abstracts will be published in the journal One Health Mycology (www.onehealthmycology.org). Authors are invited to publish their work in the journal. Data-rich papers are preferred, without length limitations. Publication is free of charge.