Trichoderma fujianense Z.X. Zhu, W.Y. Zhuang & Y. Li

Zhu, Zhao-Xiang, Xu, Hao-Xiang, Zhuang, Wen-Ying & Li, Yu, 2017, Two new green-spored species of Trichoderma (Sordariomycetes, Ascomycota) and their phylogenetic positions, MycoKeys 26, pp. 61-75 : 62

Trichoderma fujianense Z.X. Zhu, W.Y. Zhuang & Y. Li sp. nov. Figure 2

Diagnosis.

Characterized by slender to lageniform, long phialides (14-23 × 2-3.5 μm), gliocladium to verticillium-like conidiophores, ellipsoidal to cylindrical conidia (4.5-5.5 × 2.5-3.5 μm).

Type.

CHINA. Fujian: Quanzhou City, Qingyuan mountain. 24°56'51"N, 118°36'31"E, 150 m alt., on bark, 6 Aug 2015, Z.X. Zhu 230 (HMJAU 34830, holotype), Ex-type culture CGMCC 3.18757.

Description.

Colony radius on CMD after 72 h 2.5-5 mm at 20 °C, 13-15 mm at 25 °C, 3.5-5 mm at 30 °C, no growth at 35 °C, mycelium covering the plate after 2 wk at 25°C. Colony circular, dense, finely zonate, becoming hairy to floccose by conidiophores, first whitish, turning light green. Aerial hyphae virtually absent. Autolytic excretions, pigment and coilings absent. Conidiation starting after 4 d in densely disposed gliocladium -like conidiophores, short-effuse, turning green after 1 wk.

Colony radius on PDA after 72 h 7.5-8.5 mm at 20 °C, 8.5-10 mm at 25 °C, 0.5-1 mm at 30 °C, no growth at 35 °C, mycelium covering the plate after 2 wk at 25 °C. Colony circular, compact with distinctly zonate, with commonly lobed or coarsely wavy margin, centre dense, green, margin relatively looser, whitish. Conidiation noted around the plug after 3-4 d, effuse, spreading from the centre over the entire colony surface. No distinct odor, no diffusing pigment observed.

Colony radius on SNA after 72 h 1.5-3 mm at 20 °C, 4-5 mm at 25 °C, 1-2 mm at 30 °C, no growth at 35 °C, mycelium covering the plate after 24 d at 25 °C. Colony hyaline, thin, irregular, not zonate, surface mycelium scant. Aerial hyphae inconspicuous, short. Conidiophores sparsely disposed, noted after 7 d, gliocladium to verticillium-like, with 1 –3(– 4) whorls arising from the main axis. Phialides arising in more or less narrow angles from cylindrical metulae, phialides slender to lageniform, somewhat curved, (10 –)14–23(– 28) × 2 –3.5(– 4) μm, l/w 4.8 –7.2(– 9.2), (1.5 –)1.8–2.7(– 3.2) μm wide at the base (n = 100). Conidia green, ellipsoidal to cylindrical, smooth, (4 –)4.5–5.5(– 6) × 2.5 –3.5(– 4) μm, l/w (1.2 –)1.3– 2.0 (n = 100). No distinct odor, no diffusing pigment observed.

Habitat and distribution.

On the surface of rotten wood in humid forests of east China.

Etymology.

The epithet “fujian”, indicating occurrence of the fungus in Fujian province.

Teleomorph.

Not known.

Remarks.

Morphologically, the new species is most similar to Trichoderma costaricense in conidiophore character and phialide shape and size; while the latter fungus produces abundant chlamydospores on CMD, has relatively larger conidia (5.2-6.0 × 3.2-4.0 μm) and faster growth on PDA and SNA, and grows well and sporulates at 35 °C ( Chaverri and Samuels 2003). Furthermore, sequence similarity of ITS and RPB2 between these species was only 90.1% and 92.1%, with 60 bp and 68 bp differences among 606 bp and 864 bp, respectively. Among the species with green ascospores, T. gelatinosum , T. nigrovirens , T. chromospermum and T. thelephoricola also generated gliocladium to verticillium-like conidiophores, but they are not phylogenetically closely related.

The phylogenetic positions of the new taxa (Figure 1) demonstrated that Trichoderma fujianense is found to be closely related to T. aureoviride and T. candidum , and three of them form an independent lineage with high statistical support. However, T. aureoviride is distinctive by shorter conidia (3.8-4.0 × 3.0-3.3 μm, l/w 1.2-1.3); T. candidum differs by shorter phialides (7.3 –)9.0–13.5(– 16.5) μm, globose to subglobose and smaller conidia (3.2-3.5 × 3.0-3.2 μm, l/w (1.0 –)1.1(– 1.3) ( Chaverri and Samuels 2003).