Fungal planet description sheets : 371–399

Novel species of fungi described in the present study include the following from Australia: Neoseptorioides eucalypti gen. & sp. nov. from Eucalyptus radiata leaves, Phytophthora gondwanensis from soil, Diaporthe tulliensis from rotted stem ends of Theobroma cacao fruit, Diaporthe vawdreyi from fruit rot of Psidium guajava, Magnaporthiopsis agrostidis from rotted roots of Agrostis stolonifera and Semifissispora natalis from Eucalyptus leaf litter. Furthermore, Neopestalotiopsis egyptiaca is described from Mangifera indica leaves (Egypt), Roussoella mexicana from Coffea arabica leaves (Mexico), Calonectria monticola from soil (Thailand), Hygrocybe jackmanii from littoral sand dunes (Canada), Lindgomyces madisonensis from submerged decorticated wood (USA), Neofabraea brasiliensis from Malus domestica (Brazil), Geastrum diosiae from litter (Argentina), Ganoderma wiiroense on angiosperms (Ghana), Arthrinium gutiae from the gut of a grasshopper (India), Pyrenochaeta telephoni from the screen of a mobile phone (India) and Xenoleptographium phialoconidium gen. & sp. nov. on exposed xylem tissues of Gmelina arborea (Indonesia). Several novelties are introduced from Spain, namely Psathyrella complutensis on loamy soil, Chlorophyllum lusitanicum on nitrified grasslands (incl. Chlorophyllum arizonicum comb. nov.), Aspergillus citocrescens from cave sediment and Lotinia verna gen. & sp. nov. from muddy soil. Novel foliicolous taxa from South Africa include Phyllosticta carissicola from Carissa macrocarpa, Pseudopyricularia hagahagae from Cyperaceae and Zeloasperisporium searsiae from Searsia chirindensis. Furthermore, Neophaeococcomyces is introduced as a novel genus, with two new combinations, N. aloes and N. catenatus. Several foliicolous novelties are recorded from La Réunion, France, namely Ochroconis pandanicola from Pandanus utilis, Neosulcatispora agaves gen. & sp. nov. from Agave vera-cruz, Pilidium eucalyptorum from Eucalyptus robusta, Strelitziana syzygii from Syzygium jambos (incl. Strelitzianaceae fam. nov.) and Pseudobeltrania ocoteae from Ocotea obtusata (Beltraniaceae emend.). Morphological and culture characteristics along with ITS DNA barcodes are provided for all taxa.http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/nhn/pimjam2016Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)Microbiology and Plant Patholog

Using Simons stain to predict energy savings during biomechanical pulping

Pretreatment of wood chips with lignin-degrading fungi can save substantial amounts of electrical energy during a mechanical pulping process. In order to optimize this process, a rapid and reliable method was needed to predict energy savings. In this paper, we examine a fiber staining method that involves the use of Simons stain. This stain for microscopic examination of pulp fibers has been used previously to evaluate the degree of fibrillation in beaten fibers or more recently to differentiate fibers from untreated (control) and fungus-treated wood chips. Aspen or loblolly pine wood chips were treated with white-rot fungi under different experimental conditions in static-bed bioreactors for two or four weeks. At harvest, control and fungus-treated chips were refined through a single-disk me- chanical refiner and then evaluated for fiber staining characteristics and the energy consumption during refining. Fibers obtained from control pulps stained a deep blue, whereas those obtained from different biopulps showed different intensities of yellow. The yellowing of biopulp fibers correlated very well with energy savings. The results demonstrate that the Simons staining method can accurately predict appreciable energy savings during biomechanical pulping and therefore can be used as a rapid screening technique to optimize the biopulping process