Talaromyces heiheensis and T. mangshanicus, two new species from China

Three New Species of Penicillium from East and Northeast China

Penicillium species are ubiquitous in the environment and are of substantial importance, especially in industrial and medical aspects. During our investigation of the biodiversity of Penicillium, three new species were discovered in soil samples collected from East and Northeast China. They were determined as new to science based on morphological comparisons and phylogenetic analyses, and were found to belong to the subgenus Penicillium section Robsamsonia and subgenus Aspergilloides sections Aspergilloides and Citrina. Descriptions and illustrations of these species are provided, and their geographic distributions are also discussed.

Species Diversity of Penicillium in Southwest China with Discovery of Forty-Three New Species

Penicillium species are ubiquitous in all kinds of environments, and they are of industrial, agricultural and clinical importance. In this study, soil fungal diversity in Southwestern China was investigated, and that of Penicillium turned out to be unexpectedly high. The survey included a total of 179 cultures of the genus isolated from 33 soil samples. Three-locus phylogenetic analyses and morphological comparisons were carried out. The examinations revealed that they belonged to two subgenera (Aspergilloides and Penicillium), 11 sections (Aspergilloides, Canescentia, Citrina, Exilicaulis, Fasciculata, Gracilenta, Lanata-Divaricata, Penicillium, Ramosum, Robsamsonia, and Sclerotiorum), 25 series, and 74 species. Forty-three species were discovered as new to science, and a new series, Simianshanica, was established in sect. Aspergilloides. Additionally, 11 species were recorded for the first time in China. Species isolation frequency and distribution of the group were also discussed.

A New Species and Five New Records of Talaromyces (Eurotiales, Aspergillaceae) Belonging to Section Talaromyces in Korea

Talaromyces is a genus within the phylum Ascomycota (class Eurotiomycetes, order Eurotiales, family Trichocomaceae). Many species in this genus are known to produce diverse secondary metabolites with great potential for agricultural, medical, and pharmaceutical applications. During a survey on fungal diversity in the genus Talaromyces in Korea, six strains were isolated from soil, indoor air, and freshwater environments. Based on morphological, physiological, and multi-locus (ITS, BenA, CaM, and RPB2) phylogenetic analyses, we identified five previously unrecorded species in Korea (T. brevis, T. fusiformis, T. muroii, T. ruber, and T. soli) and a new species (T. echinulatus sp. nov.) belonging to section Talaromyces. Herein, detailed descriptions, illustrations, and phylogenetic tree are provided.

Seven New Species of Eurotiales (Ascomycota) Isolated from Tidal Flat Sediments in China

Tidal flats have been reported to contain many microorganisms and play a critical role in maintaining biodiversity. In surveys of filamentous fungi from tidal flat sediments in China, seven new species of Eurotiales were discovered and described. Morphological characteristics and DNA sequence analyses of combined datasets of the BenA, CaM, and RPB2 regions support their placements and recognition as new species. Aspergillus liaoningensis sp. nov. and A. plumeriae sp. nov. belong to sections Candidi and Flavipedes of subgenus Circumdati, and A. subinflatus sp. nov. is a member of section Cremei of subgenus Cremei. Penicillium danzhouense sp. nov., P. tenue sp. nov., and P. zhanjiangense sp. nov. are attributed to sections Exilicaulis and Lanata-Divaricata of subgenus Aspergilloides. Talaromyces virens sp. nov. is in section Talaromyces. Detailed descriptions and illustrations of these novel taxa are provided. Their differences from close relatives were compared and discussed.

Two Novel Species of Talaromyces Discovered in a Karst Cave in the Satun UNESCO Global Geopark of Southern Thailand

Karst caves are oligotrophic environments that appear to support a high diversity of fungi. Studies of fungi in Thailand’s caves are limited. During a 2019 exploration of the mycobiota associated with soil samples from a karst cave, namely, Phu Pha Phet in the Satun UNESCO Global Geopark in Satun Province, southern Thailand, two previously undescribed fungi belonging to Talaromyces (Trichocomaceae, Eurotiales, Eurotiomycetes) were studied using a polyphasic approach combining phenotypic and molecular data. Based on datasets of four loci (ITS, BenA, CaM, and RPB2), phylogenetic trees of the section Trachyspermi were constructed, and two new species—Talaromyces phuphaphetensis sp. nov. and T. satunensis sp. nov.—phylogenetically related to T. subericola, T. resinae, and T. brasiliensis, are described. Detailed descriptions and illustrations of the new species are provided. This study increases the number of cave-dwelling soil fungi discovered in Thailand’s Satun UNESCO Global Geopark, which appears to be a unique environment with a high potential for discovering fungal species previously undescribed.

New Species of Talaromyces (Trichocomaceae, Eurotiales) from Southwestern China

Species of Talaromyces are cosmopolitan and ubiquitous, and some are of industrial and medicinal importance. Species of Talaromyces have been successively reported in China. During our examinations of samples collected from southwestern China, two new species belonging to Talaromyces sect. Talaromyces were further discovered based on phylogenetic analyses and morphological comparisons. Talaromyces ginkgonis sp. nov., isolated from a partially colonized fruit of Ginkgo biloba, differs from closely-related fungi in the combination of conidia ellipsoidal, smooth and 3.5−4 × 2−3 μm, no growth on CYA at 37 °C and sequence divergences; T. shilinensis sp. nov. is distinguished from its related allies in the combination of smooth conidia, colonies 10−11 mm diameter on CYA at 25 °C and sequence differences. Detailed descriptions and illustrations of the new taxa are given.

New Species of Aspergillus (Aspergillaceae) from Tropical Islands of China

Aspergillus species are cosmopolitan and ubiquitous, closely related to human daily life. They are also of food, industrial and medical importance. From the examination of cultures isolated from soil samples collected on tropical islands of China, four new species of the genus were discovered based on phylogenetic analyses and morphological comparisons. Aspergillus xishaensis sp. nov. and A. neoterreus sp. nov. belong to sections Flavipedes and Terrei of subgenus Circumdati, and A. hainanicus sp. nov. and A. qilianyuensis sp. nov. are in sections Cavernicolarum and Nidulantes of subgenus Nidulantes. To accommodate A. hainanicus, a new series Hainanici was proposed. Detailed descriptions and illustrations of the new taxa were provided.

Ascodesmisrosicola sp. nov. and Talaromycesrosarhiza sp. nov., two endophytes from Rosaroxburghii in China

Background

Rosaroxburghii Tratt., a deciduous shrub of the family Rosaceae, is usually used as food and medicinal materials and also cultivated as an ornamental. Plant endophytic fungi are a large class of microbial resources not fully researched, with great potential applications. Two strains of Ascodesmis and Talaromyces were isolated during a survey of biodiversity on endophytic fungi of R.roxburghii in China. Multigene phylogenetic analyses showed that each of the two fungi formed a distinct lineage and separated from known congeneric species and they are proposed as two novel taxa.

New information

Ascodesmisrosicola sp. nov. usually has one or two conspicuous simple or branched ridges extending to the majority of the ascospore surface and remarkably small asci, distinguishing it from the previously-described species in the genus Ascodesmis. Talaromycesrosarhiza sp. nov., of the section Talaromyces, is closely related to T.francoae. It differs from the latter by having both monoverticillate and biverticillate conidiophores, while those of T.francoae are biverticillate. Both novel endophytes are illustrated and described.

Discovery and Extrolite Production of Three New Species of Talaromyces Belonging to Sections Helici and Purpurei from Freshwater in Korea

Three novel fungal species, Talaromyces gwangjuensis, T. koreana, and T. teleomorpha were found in Korea during an investigation of fungi in freshwater. The new species are described here using morphological characters, a multi-gene phylogenetic analysis of the ITS, BenA, CaM, RPB2 regions, and extrolite data. Talaromyces gwangjuensis is characterized by restricted growth on CYA, YES, monoverticillate and biverticillate conidiophores, and globose smooth-walled conidia. Talaromyces koreana is characterized by fast growth on MEA, biverticillate conidiophores, or sometimes with additional branches and the production of acid on CREA. Talaromyces teleomorpha is characterized by producing creamish-white or yellow ascomata on OA and MEA, restricted growth on CREA, and no asexual morph observed in the culture. A phylogenetic analysis of the ITS, BenA, CaM, and RPB2 sequences showed that the three new taxa form distinct monophyletic clades. Detailed descriptions, illustrations, and phylogenetic trees are provided.

New Species of Talaromyces (Fungi) Isolated from Soil in Southwestern China

Southwestern China belongs among the global biodiversity hotspots and the Daba Mountains are recognized as one of the priority conservation areas. During the exploration of fungal biodiversity from soil samples collected from Mount Daba, two species of Talaromyces were discovered as new to science based on phylogenetic analyses and morphological comparisons. Talaromyces chongqingensis sp. nov. is a sister taxon of T. minioluteus and T. minnesotensis in the section Trachyspermi; and T. wushanicus sp. nov., affiliated to the section Talaromyces, is closely related to T. cnidii and T. siamensis. The new species differ from their sisters in DNA sequences, growth rates, and morphological characteristics. Descriptions and illustrations of them are provided in detail.

Four new species of Talaromyces section Talaromyces discovered in China

Four new Talaromyces species without any close relatives are reported here, namely, T. aureolinus (ex-type AS3.15865 ^T), T. bannicus (ex-type AS3.15862 ^T), T. penicillioides (ex-type AS3.15822 ^T), and T. sparsus (ex-type AS3.16003 ^T). Morphologically, T. aureolinus is unique in producing orange-yellow mycelium and gymnothecia, singly borne asci, and ellipsoidal, spiny ascospores. Talaromyces bannicus is characterized by the slow growth rate, polymorphic conidiophores, inconsistent stipe lengths, and pyriform to ellipsoidal, echinulate conidia. Talaromyces penicillioides is distinguished by good growth and sporulation on malt extract agar (MEA) and yeast extract sucrose agar (YES) media, resembling the colony appearances of certain Penicillium species, and appressed biverticillate and occasionally monoverticillate penicilli bearing globose to ellipsoidal, echinulate conidia. Talaromyces sparsus has wide, submerged colony margins with sparse aerial mycelium, and conidial areas overlaid with yellow-green, sterile hyphae on MEA medium. These four new species are well supported by individual phylogenetic trees based on β-tubulin (BENA), calmodulin (CALM), DNA-dependent RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2), and internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) gene sequences and the tree of the concatenated BENA-CALM-RPB2 sequence.

New section and species in Talaromyces

Talaromyces is a monophyletic genus containing seven sections. The number of species in Talaromyces grows rapidly due to reliable and complete sequence data contributed from all over the world. In this study agricultural soil samples from Fujiang, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Shandong, Tibet and Zhejiang provinces of China were collected and analyzed for fungal diversity. Based on a polyphasic approach including phylogenetic analysis of partial ITS, BenA, CaM and RPB2 gene sequences, macro- and micro-morphological analyses, six of them could not be assigned to any described species, and one cannot be assigned to any known sections. Morphological characters as well as their phylogenetic relationship with other Talaromyces species are presented for these putative new species. Penicillium resedanum is combined in Talaromyces section Subinflati as T. resedanus.

Morphology and multigene phylogeny of Talaromycesamyrossmaniae, a new synnematous species belonging to the section Trachyspermi from India

A new Talaromyces species, T.amyrossmaniae, isolated from decaying fruit and litter of Terminalia bellerica, is described and illustrated. On the natural substrate, the new species produces determinate synnemata, with a well-defined, vivid orange red to orange red cylindrical stipe, and a greyish green capitulum. Conidiophores are typically biverticillate, or sometimes have subterminal branches, with acerose phialides that produce globose to subglobose, smooth to slightly roughened conidia. Multigene phylogenetic analyses based on the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), and partial sequences of β-tubulin (BenA), calmodulin (CaM), and DNA directed RNA polymerase second large subunit (RPB2) genes, along with morphological characterization, revealed that these isolates are distinct and form a unique lineage of Talaromyces in section Trachyspermi, closely allied to T.aerius, T.albobiverticillius, T.heiheensis, T.erythromellis, and T.solicola. The new species T.amyrossmaniae is the first species in section Trachyspermi with determinate synnemata.

New Penicillium and Talaromyces species from honey, pollen and nests of stingless bees

Penicillium and Talaromyces species have a worldwide distribution and are isolated from various materials and hosts, including insects and their substrates. The aim of this study was to characterize the Penicillium and Talaromyces species obtained during a survey of honey, pollen and the inside of nests of Melipona scutellaris. A total of 100 isolates were obtained during the survey and 82% of those strains belonged to Penicillium and 18% to Talaromyces. Identification of these isolates was performed based on phenotypic characters and β-tubulin and ITS sequencing. Twenty-one species were identified in Penicillium and six in Talaromyces, including seven new species. These new species were studied in detail using a polyphasic approach combining phenotypic, molecular and extrolite data. The four new Penicillium species belong to sections Sclerotiora (Penicillium fernandesiae sp. nov., Penicillium mellis sp. nov., Penicillium meliponae sp. nov.) and Gracilenta (Penicillium apimei sp. nov.) and the three new Talaromyces species to sections Helici (Talaromyces pigmentosus sp. nov.), Talaromyces (Talaromyces mycothecae sp. nov.) and Trachyspermi (Talaromyces brasiliensis sp. nov.). The invalidly described species Penicillium echinulonalgiovense sp. nov. was also isolated during the survey and this species is validated here.

Multilocus phylogenetic analysis of Talaromyces species isolated from cucurbit plants in China and description of two new species, T. cucurbitiradicus and T. endophyticus

During a survey of endophytic fungi from cucurbit plants in China, 21 Talaromyces strains were isolated from ten symptomless plants. Phylogenetic analysis of the partial RNA polymerase II largest subunit gene (RPB2) showed that the strains belong to Talaromyces sections Talaromyces and Islandici. Based on morphological characters and multilocus phylogenetic analysis of the nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 = ITS), calmodulin (CaM), and β-tubulin (TUB) genes, the strains were identified as four known species, T. cnidii, T. pinophilus, T. radicus, and T. wortmannii, and two new species. Two new species, T. cucurbitiradicus from pumpkin roots and T. endophyticus from cucumber stems, are described in this study. Talaromyces cucurbitiradicus is morphologically similar to T. funiculosus but differs in the number of phialides per metula and by the production of chlamydospores. Talaromyces endophyticus is morphologically similar to T. cerinus and T. chlamydosporus but differs by producing yellowish colonies and by lacking chlamydospores. Further analyses of polymorphisms in ITS and TUB sequences supported the distinctions among T. cucurbitiradicus, T. endophyticus, and similar species.

Three new species of Talaromyces sect. Talaromyces discovered from soil in China

Three new Talaromyces species isolated from soil are reported here, namely T. dimorphus (ex-type strain AS3.15692 ^T), T. lentulus (ex-type strain AS3.15689 ^T) and T. mae (ex-type strain AS3.15690 ^T). T. dimorphus is characterized by biverticillate and monoverticillate penicilli, ampulliform phialides, slimy texture with sparse mycelial funicles and absent conidiogenesis on MEA. T. lentulus is featured by vivid yellow mycelium on Cz and MEA, absent conidiogenesis on CYA, and globose smooth-walled conidia. T. mae presents sparse conidia on CYA and YES, funiculous and floccose texture on MEA, and ovoid smooth-walled conidia. Both morphological and molecular characters show that T. dimorphus is unique and has no close relatives. Although T. lentulus and T. mae resembles T. adpressus and T. pinophilus very much, phylogenetic analyses of CaM, BenA, ITS and Rpb2 sequences all support their status as novel species.

Phylogeny and morphological analyses of Penicillium section Sclerotiora (Fungi) lead to the discovery of five new species

Phylogeny of Penicillium section Sclerotiora is still limitedly investigated. In this study, five new species of Penicillium are identified from the samples collected from different places of China, and named P. austrosinicum, P. choerospondiatis, P. exsudans, P. sanshaense and P. verrucisporum. The conidiophores of P. austrosinicum and P. exsudans are monoverticillate like most members of the section, while the rest species are biverticillate similar to the only two species P. herquei and P. malachiteum previously reported in the section Sclerotiora. The phylogenetic positions of the new taxa are determined based on the sequence data of ITS, BenA, CaM and RPB2 regions, which reveals that all the species with biverticillate condiophores form a well-supported subclade in the section. The new Penicillium species clearly differ from the existing species of the genus in culture characteristics on four standard growth media, microscopic features, and sequence data. Morphological discrepancies are discussed between the new species and their allies.