Aspergillus caatingaensis and A. pernambucoensis, isolated from semi-desert soil in caatinga area, the State of Pernambuco, Brazil, are described and illustrated. Aspergillus caatingaensis is characterized by its white cleistothecia, broadly lenticular ascospores with four equatorial crests and irregularly ribbed to slightly reticulate with aculeate convex surfaces, and ellipsoidal to broadly ellipsoidal conidia with a smooth wall. Aspergillus pernambucoensis is characterized by its, white cleistothecia, lenticular ascospores with two equatorial crests and irregularly ribbed with tuberculate to verrucate convex surfaces, and ovoid to broadly ellipsoidal conidia with a smooth wall. The validation of these new species is supported further by analyses of the β-tubulin, calmodulin and actin gene sequences.

Field observations and inoculation experiments revealed that spermogonia and aecia produced on systemically infected plants of Galium aparine and uredinia and telia on Carex maackii are different stages of the life cycle of a Puccinia fungus. By comparative morphology with allied species, the fungus was concluded to be a new species and named as Puccinia galiiuniversa.

We isolated a homolog of Schizosaccharomyces pombe HSP9 from Grifola frondosa and designated it Gf.HSP9. The Gf.HSP9 gene consisted of four exons and three introns and encoded 84 amino acid residues. We have also identified related HSP9 genes from Pleurotus eryngii (Pe.HSP9), Hypsizygus marmoreus (Hm.HSP9), and Lentinula edodes (Le.HSP9). The predicted tertiary structures of these HSP9s were the same. In addition, the expression pattern of their mRNA increased during fruiting body in a differentiation-dependent manner. These results suggested that HSP9 was associated with the fruiting body differentiation in these four edible mushrooms.

The types and additional materials of Entoloma subclitocyboides and E. subinfundibuliforme, described from Hainan Island in South China, were reexamined. The two species were found to be conspecific based on morphological and molecular evidences. A revised description of E. subclitocyboides is presented with E. subinfundibuliforme being its synonym.

Powdery mildew Phyllactinia (Ovulariopsis cf. insolita) is reported on Funastrum clausum and F. cynanchoides in Sinaloa, Mexico. The fungus was reported as Oidium insolitum on Lycium chilense in Argentina, later as Phyllactinia chubutiana (anamorph Ovulariopsis insolita). This fungus was studied by light microscopy and molecular techniques. Fungal mycelium was smooth, effuse, with septate hyphae; appressoria distinct, or ramified; conidiophores pseudoidium type; mature conidium cingulum-like, subcylindric with sub-apical and sub-terminal protuberances. Two rDNA ITS nucleotide sequences were 99% homolog with P. chubutiana's sequence.

We identified two aegerolysins in the transcriptome of Pleurotus eryngii that are homologs of pleurotolysin A (PlyA) and ostreolysin in P. ostreatus. The amino acid sequence of Pe.PlyA was highly homologous to that of PlyA, and Pe.ostreolysin was highly homologous to that of ostreolysin. Furthermore, these genes were both specifically and highly expressed in primordia of P. eryngii in the same manner as in P. ostreatus. The analyses revealed that Pe.PlyA and Pe.ostreolysin from P. eryngii are functional orthologues of PlyA and ostreolysin from P. ostreatus. These analyses also revealed that paralogous relationship of Pe.PlyA and Pe.ostreolysin.

During study of endophytic fungal diversity in tropical region, a new species of Arthrinium was isolated from healthy petiole of Jatropha podagrica. It is characterized by aseptate, dark brown, circular, lenticular conidia with hyaline margin, broad, hyaline conidiophores with numerous brown septa and ampulliform–lageniform conidiophore mother cells. The new species superficially resembles A. phaeospermum and A. saccharicola in having circular lenticular conidia, but differs in conidia and conidiophore size, and shape of conidiophore mother cells. Phylogenetic study using sequence analysis of ITS region (ITS1–5.8S–ITS2) separates the new species (A. jatrophae) from other related species of Arthrinium.

A new species of the monotypic genus Pseudohypocrea is described based on a collection from Tai Po Kau, Hong Kong, China. The fungus is characterized by globose to subglobose perithecia entirely immersed in a pulvinate reddish-brown stroma, cylindrical asci with smooth-walled and lemon-shaped part-ascospores, and occurring on dead leaves. Morphological features of the new species are described and compared with the only known species of the genus.poi

Infectious disease caused by antibiotic resistant microorganisms is a global public health problem. There is a need to search for new bioactive compounds from new sources. In this study, we focused on invertebrate-pathogenic fungi infecting spiders. One hundred and sixty-five crude extracts from Akanthomyces (n = 45) and Gibellula (n = 10) were screened for their antimicrobial activity against nine human pathogens. Twenty-one extracts out of 165 (12.73%) from 16 (29.09%) isolates exhibited antimicrobial activity against at least one test strain. The most activity was against Staphylococcus aureus American Type Culture Collection (ATCC 25923) (8.48%) followed by Cryptococcus neoformans ATCC 90112 (3.03%), C. neoformans ATCC 90113 (2.42%), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) SK-1 (2.42%), Penicillium marneffei (2.42%), Microsporum gypseum (1.21%), Candida albicans ATCC 90028 (1.21%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 (0.61%) and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 (0.61%), respectively. The ethyl acetate extract of mycelia from Gibellula pulchra EPF083 had the strongest broad spectrum antimicrobial activity with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 16 μg/ml against S. aureus ATCC 25923, MRSA SK-1, C. neoformans (ATCC 90112 and ATCC 90113) and P. marneffei and exhibited fungicidal activity against C. neoformans ATCC 90112 and P. marneffei with minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) values of 16 and 32 μg/ml, respectively. These preliminary data show that invertebrate-pathogenic fungi could be a potential source of antimicrobial agents.

A set of isolates closely related to the reed pathogen Pythium phragmitis was found among Pythium strains obtained from reed (Phragmites australis) soil and plant samples in Germany and Switzerland. These isolates consistently differed from P. phragmitis at 6, 6 and 3 nucleotide positions in the rDNA internal transcribed spacer region, the β-tubulin, and the cytochrome oxidase II gene, respectively. They are formally described here as Pythium phragmiticola sp. nov. An analysis of phenotypic traits like oospore size, growth and aggressiveness to reed showed that P. phragmiticola is almost indiscernible from P. phragmitis, as most features assessed overlapped considerably between species. Phylogenetic analyses provided evidence that P. phragmiticola is the second parent of a previously described Pythium hybrid involving P. phragmitis. The alloploid status of the hybrid, and the parents' reproductive separation was confirmed by molecular evidence and the high ratios of aborted oospores. In natural environments there obviously are two species closely associated with reed, P. phragmitis and P. phragmiticola which are homothallic, but can outcross, resulting in sterile, vegetatively propagated interspecific hybrids. Driving forces leading to the radiation of these two species are unknown, but might be connected with divergent parasitic adaptation to different host tissues or species.

A new genus Verrucocephalum is proposed for a fungus which was found from bat dung collected in a limestone cave. The type species, V. latericorvinisporum has darkly pigmented spores and aseptic hyphae that branch and capture nematodes by means of appressoria. These morphological characteristics match the definition for the family Helicocephalidaceae (Zoopagales, Zoopagomycotina). The genus can be distinguished from three previously known genera in the family by its broad-based tapering sporophores with darkly pigmented verrucose spores born on short lateral branchlets. The branchlets may be homologous to the papillae seen in genus Rhopalomyces.

Species of Marasmius sect. Marasmius (subsect. Marasmius and Sicciformes) collected in South Korea were studied. The detailed morphological descriptions with figures for five species and a key for the identification are provided. Marasmius wisteriae is described as a new species, and M. bulliardii, M. rotalis, M. tubulatus (all in the subsect. Marasmius), and M. ruforotula (subsect. Sicciformes) are newly recorded in Korea. Their taxonomic position was confirmed by the phylogeny based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and nuclear large ribosomal subunit (LSU) rRNA genes.