im comparing a sample based on the analysis of its ITS1/2 regions with the BLASTn tool for my internship. What's the maximum homology percentage required to determine if my sample at hand is a new specie?
Dear Denise,
The % similarity between species highly depends on the group. ITS species hypotheses based on similarity at different similarity levels can be performed in the UNITE database, but this is more usefull in ectomycorrhizal fungi (althought other groups are also well represented. I think that a preliminary phylogenetic tree using the closest blasts would be more conclusive than the blast results itself. However, low similarity with the closest blast does not mean that you have a new species, but only that this species is not yet in the database. Keep in mind, that morphological descriptions are available all "described" species (I konw, it sounds redundant). You need to know the group you are working with.
best
Francisco
in fact, low similarity with the closest blast when using ITS regionsdoes not mean that you have a new species, i think you should be using TEF1 gene due to it good for detemine the fungi,
Finally, morphological characteristics are confirm the new species, not just molecular identification
you can follow the link may be useful you
Article A new species of Trichoderma and gliotoxin role: A new obser...
Following links may be helpful:
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Does_any_one_knows_how_to_describe_a_new_fungal_species_based_only_on_molecular_data
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