FungID: Innovative Fungi Identification Method with Chromogenic Profiling of Colony Color Patterns

Fungi play crucial roles in many ecosystems; however, traditional identification methods are often time- and labor-intensive. In this study, we introduce FungID, a pilot and novel deep learning algorithm, alongside its user-friendly software implementation, developed by analyzing various fungal spec...

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Main Authors: John Pouris, Konstantinos Konstantinidis, Ioanna Pyrri, Effie G. Papageorgiou, Chrysa Voyiatzaki
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Pathogens
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/14/3/242
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author John Pouris
Konstantinos Konstantinidis
Ioanna Pyrri
Effie G. Papageorgiou
Chrysa Voyiatzaki
author_facet John Pouris
Konstantinos Konstantinidis
Ioanna Pyrri
Effie G. Papageorgiou
Chrysa Voyiatzaki
author_sort John Pouris
collection DOAJ
description Fungi play crucial roles in many ecosystems; however, traditional identification methods are often time- and labor-intensive. In this study, we introduce FungID, a pilot and novel deep learning algorithm, alongside its user-friendly software implementation, developed by analyzing various fungal species for identification based on chromogenic profiling of colony color patterns via a Convolutional Neural Network. Training and testing FungID upon a set of 269 images showed remarkable performance in terms of model robustness and classification efficacy. These findings demonstrate that FungID offers a potential method for rapid and reliable identification of fungal species through chromogenic profiling, providing additional tools to conventional techniques being employed in the fields of health, microbiology, biotechnology, and more. Our research underscores the promising role of deep learning algorithms in enhancing the understanding of the taxonomy and ecological functions of fungi that can be grown in pure cultures, while also emphasizing the importance of carefully assessing the scope and limitations of these methods.
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issn 2076-0817
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publishDate 2025-03-01
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series Pathogens
spelling doaj-art-4cf2ce49d5a84c15b391107e3c51c3442025-08-20T01:48:57ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172025-03-0114324210.3390/pathogens14030242FungID: Innovative Fungi Identification Method with Chromogenic Profiling of Colony Color PatternsJohn Pouris0Konstantinos Konstantinidis1Ioanna Pyrri2Effie G. Papageorgiou3Chrysa Voyiatzaki4Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceLaboratory of Biology, Department of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, Dragana, 68100 Alexandroupolis, GreeceDepartment of Ecology and Systematics, Faculty of Biology, University of Athens, Panepistimioupoli, 15784 Athens, GreeceLaboratory of Reliability and Quality Control in Laboratory Hematology (HemQcR), Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Health and Care Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceLaboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, GreeceFungi play crucial roles in many ecosystems; however, traditional identification methods are often time- and labor-intensive. In this study, we introduce FungID, a pilot and novel deep learning algorithm, alongside its user-friendly software implementation, developed by analyzing various fungal species for identification based on chromogenic profiling of colony color patterns via a Convolutional Neural Network. Training and testing FungID upon a set of 269 images showed remarkable performance in terms of model robustness and classification efficacy. These findings demonstrate that FungID offers a potential method for rapid and reliable identification of fungal species through chromogenic profiling, providing additional tools to conventional techniques being employed in the fields of health, microbiology, biotechnology, and more. Our research underscores the promising role of deep learning algorithms in enhancing the understanding of the taxonomy and ecological functions of fungi that can be grown in pure cultures, while also emphasizing the importance of carefully assessing the scope and limitations of these methods.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/14/3/242chromogeniccolor patternfungiFungIDfungi identification
spellingShingle John Pouris
Konstantinos Konstantinidis
Ioanna Pyrri
Effie G. Papageorgiou
Chrysa Voyiatzaki
FungID: Innovative Fungi Identification Method with Chromogenic Profiling of Colony Color Patterns
Pathogens
chromogenic
color pattern
fungi
FungID
fungi identification
title FungID: Innovative Fungi Identification Method with Chromogenic Profiling of Colony Color Patterns
title_full FungID: Innovative Fungi Identification Method with Chromogenic Profiling of Colony Color Patterns
title_fullStr FungID: Innovative Fungi Identification Method with Chromogenic Profiling of Colony Color Patterns
title_full_unstemmed FungID: Innovative Fungi Identification Method with Chromogenic Profiling of Colony Color Patterns
title_short FungID: Innovative Fungi Identification Method with Chromogenic Profiling of Colony Color Patterns
title_sort fungid innovative fungi identification method with chromogenic profiling of colony color patterns
topic chromogenic
color pattern
fungi
FungID
fungi identification
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/14/3/242
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AT konstantinoskonstantinidis fungidinnovativefungiidentificationmethodwithchromogenicprofilingofcolonycolorpatterns
AT ioannapyrri fungidinnovativefungiidentificationmethodwithchromogenicprofilingofcolonycolorpatterns
AT effiegpapageorgiou fungidinnovativefungiidentificationmethodwithchromogenicprofilingofcolonycolorpatterns
AT chrysavoyiatzaki fungidinnovativefungiidentificationmethodwithchromogenicprofilingofcolonycolorpatterns