A powdery mildew (Erysiphaceae) has been continuously collected on the leaves ofLonicera harae in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, where this shrub is indigenous.Microscopic examination of the asexual morphs revealed that the current collections are differentiated from the all known Erysiphe species on Lonicera spp. by its longer conidiophores and longer conidia. Although the morphology of the chasmothecia is reminiscent of Erysiphe ehrenbergii and E. lonicerae, the specimens on L. harae differ from them in having smaller ascospores. A phylogenetic tree generated from a combined dataset of the internal transcribed spacer region and 28S rDNA gene sequences demonstrates that sequences obtained from three powdery mildew collections on L. harae clustered together as an independent species clade with high bootstrap values distant from otherErysiphe species on Lonicera, representing a species of its own. Based on morphological differences and molecular-phylogenetic results, the powdery mildew on L. harae is proposed as a new species, Erysiphe lonicerigena, and the holomorph of the fungus is described and illustrated in this study.

In this study, a fungal strain KNUF-22-025 belonging to the genus Botryotrichum was isolated from the soil in Korea. The cultural and morphological characteristics of this strain differed from those of closely related species. On malt extract agar, strain KNUF-22-025 showed slower growth than most of the related species, except B. domesticum. The conidia size (9.6– 21.1 Â 9.9–18.4 mm) of strain KNUF-22-025 was larger than those of B. piluliferum, B. domesticum, and B. peruvianum but smaller than those of B. atrogriseum and B. iranicum. Conidiophores in strain KNUF-22-025 (137 mm) were longer than those in other closely related species but shorter than those in B. atrogriseum. Multi-locus analysis of molecular markers, such as ITS, 28S ribosomal DNA, RBP2, and TUB2 revealed that strain KNUF-22-025 was distinct from other Botryotrichum species. Thus, this strain is proposed as a novel species based on morphological characteristics along with molecular phylogeny and named Botryotrichum luteum sp. nov.

In this study, fungal strains designated as KNUF-22-14A and KNUF-22-15A were isolated from soil samples in Korea. These two strains were identified based on cultural and morphological characteristics as well as phylogenetic analyses and were found to be morphologically and phylogenetically identical. Upon their morphological comparison with closely related species, such as Tolypocladium album, T. amazonense, T. endophyticum, T. pustulatum,and T. tropicale, a difference in the size of short phialides [0.6–2.4(–9.3) Â 0.8–1.4 mm] was observed. Meanwhile, these strains had larger conidia (1.2–3.0 Â 1.2–3.0 mm) than T. album, T.amazonense, T. endophyticum, and T. tropicale and smaller conidia than T. pustulatum. Phylogenetic analyses using a multi-locus datasets based on ITS, LSU, and SSU showed that KNUF-22-14A and KNUF-22-15A formed a distinct cluster from previously identified Tolypocladium species. Thus, these fungal strains isolated from soil in Korea are proposed as a novel species according to their characteristics and are named Tolypocladium globosum sp. nov.

Auricularia is one of the broadly cultivated edible mushrooms in Korea. Most of the Korean Auricularia strains used for cultivation and breeding are known as A. auricula-judae. Recently, this species has been reported to belong to a species complex. Therefore, this study was carried out to genetically clarify the bred and cultivated Korean A. auricula-judae strains. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and IGS1 rDNA region sequences were determined from 10 A. auricula-judae strains by PCR and sequencing. Variation in the nucleotide sequence and sequence length of the two rDNA regions were found among the seven A. auricula-judae strains. A maximum-likelihood (ML) phylogenetic tree based on the ITS sequences clearly placed all the 10 Korean A. auricula-judae strains in the A. heimuer clade of the A. auriculajudae complex. A. heimuer is diverged from A. auricula-judae. An ML phylogenetic tree based on the IGS1 sequences revealed the close relationship between Korean A. heimuer strains to Chinese A. heimuer strains. But each strain could be distinguishable by the IGS1 sequence. Furthermore, progeny strains in the seven Korean strains could be differentiated from their parental strains by the IGS1 sequence based phylogenetic tree. Our results are expected to be used to complement the distinction of domestic Auricularia cultivars.

Termitomyces sp. that grow in symbiosis with fungus-farming Termites have medicinal properties. However, they are rare in nature, and their artificial culture is challenging. The expression of AXL receptor tyrosine kinase and immune checkpoint molecules favor the growth of cancer cells. The study evaluated the optimal conditions for the artificial culture of Termitomyces and their inhibitory activity on AXL and immune checkpoint molecules in lung adenocarcinoma and melanoma cell lines. The culture of 45 strains of Termitomyces was compared. Five strains with marked growth rates were selected. Four of the selected strains form a single cluster by sequence analysis. The mycelium of 4 selected strains produces more fungal mass in potato dextrose broth than in a mixed media. The bark was the most appropriate solid substrate forTermitomyces mycelia culture. The mycelium of all five selected strains showed a higher growth rate under normal CO 2 conditions. The culture broth, methanol, and ethyl acetate of one selected strain (T-120) inhibited the mRNA relative expression of AXL receptor tyrosine kinase and immune checkpoint molecules in cancer cell lines. Overall, these results suggest the potential usefulness of Termitomyces extracts as a coadjuvant therapy in malignant diseases.

The fungal strain belonging to the genus Monochaetia of the family Sporocadaceae was isolated from hairy long-horned toad beetle (Moechotypa diphysis) during the screening of microfungi associated with insects from Gangwon Province, Korea. The strain KNUF-6L2F produced white, light brown to dirty black surface, and olivaceous green colonies with the higher growth, while the closest strain M. ilicis KUMCC 15–0520 T were light brown to brown, and M.schimae SAUCC 212201 T light brown to brown toward center. The strain KNUF-6L2F produced shorter (5.7–14.0 lm) apical appendages thanM. ilicis (6.0–24.0 lm), but similar to M. schimae (7.0–12.5 lm). Three median cells of KNUF-6L2F were light brown to olivaceous green, whereas brown and olivaceous cells were observed from M. ilicis and M. schimae, respectively. And the strain KNUF-6L2F produced larger conidiogenous cells than M. ilicis and M. schimae. Additionally, phylogenetic analyses based on molecular datasets of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1α), and b-tubulin (TUB2) genes corroborated the strain’s originality. Thus, the strain is different from other known Monochaetia species, according to molecular phylogeny and morophology, hence we suggested the new species Monochaetia mediana sp. nov. and provided a descriptive illustration.

The aim of this study was to characterize a new fungal species, Acremonium conglutinatum, isolated from air samples collected in Wando, South Korea. Phylogenetic analysis based on the internal transcribed spacer and large subunit regions revealed its unique position within the genus Acremonium. The isolated strain displayed distinct morphological characteristics, including ellipsoid or bent-ellipsoid conidia formed in clusters on the phialides. These features differentiate the new species from closely related species within the genus. This study describes the morphological and molecular characteristics of A. conglutinatum and emphasizes its phylogenetic relationships with other Acremonium spp. The identification of this novel species contributes to our understanding of the diversity and ecological role of Acremonium.

Acarosporaceae is a crustose lichen and is known as a species that has more than 50 multispores, and has hyaline spores. Those taxa are often found in rock and soil in mountain areas or coastal regions in Korea, and very diverse forms and species are known. However, after an overall genetic phylogenetic analysis of carbonized ascomata in 2015, species consisting only of the morphological base are newly divided, and several species of Acarosporaceae in Korea are also being discovered in this situation. As a result of analysis using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and nuLSU gene analysis, Korean species belonged to Acarospora and Sarcogyne clade, and i>Acarospora classified as the Acarospora clade was mixed with the Polysporina group and the Sarcogyne clade is mixed with the Acarospora. We identified two new species (Acarospora beangnokdamensis J. S. Park & S. O. Oh, sp. nov., Sarcogyne jejuensis J. S. Park & S. O. Oh, sp. nov.) through morphological, molecular, and secondary metabolite substance and found one new record (Sarcogyne oceanica K. Knudsen & Kocourk). We have made a classification key forAcarospora and Sarcogyne in Korea and reported all information together here.

Xylanase has been applied in various sectors, such as biomass conversion, paper, pulp, textiles, and pharmaceutical industries. This study aimed to isolate and screen potential xylanase-producing fungi from the soil of Suphan Buri Province, Thailand. Fifteen fungi were isolated, and their xylanase activities were tested by the qualitative method. The result showed that isolate SP3, SP10 and SP15 gave high xylanase activity with potency index (PI) of 2.32, 2.01 and 1.82, respectively. These fungi were selected for the xylanase quantitative test, isolate SP10 performed the highest xylanase activity with 0.535 U/mL. Through molecular methods using the β-tubulin gene, isolate SP10 was identified as Penicillium menonorum .The xylanase characteristics from P. menonorum SP10 were determined, including the xylanase isoforms and the optimum pH and temperature. The xylanase isoforms on SDS-PAGE indicated that P. menonorum SP10 produced two xylanases (45 and 54 kDa). Moreover, its xylanase worked optimally at pH 6 and 55℃ C while reaching 61% activity at 65℃ C. These results proposed P. menonorum SP10 as a good candidate for industrial uses, especially in poultry feed and pulp industries, to improve yield and economic efficiency under slightly acidic and high-temperature conditions.

Species in the genus Trametes (Basidiomycota, Polyporales) have been used in natural medicine for a long time. Many studies reported that mycelia or fruiting bodies of Trametes spp. exhibited effects of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antimicrobial activities.However, comparative analysis in this genus is scarce due to limitation of morphological identification and the sample number. In this study, the 19 strains of seven Trametes species were chosen to generate a five-gene-based phylogeny with the 31 global references. In addition, 39 culture extracts were prepared for 13 strains to test for anticancer and antibacterial activities. Strong anticancer activities were found in several extracts from T. hirsuta and T. suaveolens. Anticancer activities of T. suaveolens, T. cf. junipericola and T. trogii were first described here. The antibacterial ability of T. versicolor and T. hirsuta extracts has been confirmed. The antibacterial activities of T. suaveolens have been reported at the first time in this study. These results suggest an efficient application of the genus Trametes as the drug resources especially for anticancer agents.