Efficiency of some medicinal plant extracts and an entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae separately and in combination with proteus® against the large cabbage butterfly, pieris brassicae L.

Pieris brassicae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) causes great qualitative and quantitative damage to cabbage crops. The present research was conducted to assess the synergistic/antagonistic interactions of Satureja hortensis, Trachyspermum ammi, Ziziphora tenuior, Cuminum cyminum, and Foeniculum vulgare methanolic extracts with Metarhizium anisopliae and Proteus® against P. brassicae pupae under laboratory conditions. The tested methanolic extracts when combined with M. anisopliae and Proteus® possessed synergistic efficacy (except for M. anisopliae + ammi). Probit analysis of extracts revealed S. hortensis as the most effective extract with LC50 value equivalent to 43.49 ppm. Proteus® also exhibited a high efficacy (LC50=48.88). The results support the potential of cumin, fennel, savory and ziziphora methanolic extracts to improve the efficacy of M. anisopliae. Results demonstrated that all tested extracts integrated with Proteus® provide more effective control of P. brassicae than Proteus® alone

Two novel <i>Aspergillus </i>species from hypersaline soils of The National Park of Lake Urmia, Iran

Two novel Aspergillus species, one belonging to the section Terrei and the other to section Flavipedes, were isolated from hypersaline soils of The National Park of Lake Urmia (Iran) and are here described as Aspergillus iranicus and Aspergillus urmiensis. A polyphasic taxonomic approach comprising extrolite profiles, phenotypic characters and molecular data (beta-tubulin, calmodulin and ribosomal polymerase II second largest subunit gene sequences) was applied to determine their novel taxonomic status. Aspergillus iranicus (CBS 139561T) is phylogenetically related to A. carneus, A. niveus, A. allahabadii and A. neoindicus, and it can be differentiated from those species by a unique extrolite pattern (citrinin, gregatins, and a terrequinone) and its conidial colour. Aspergillus urmiensis (CBS 139558T) shares a most recent common ancestor with A. templicola. The former species produces globose vesicles, and those of A. templicola are predominantly elongate. The Aspergillus urmiensis isolates produce several uncharacterized extrolites. Two other strains obtained during this study reside in a clade, together with the type strain of A. movilensis (CCF 4410T), and are identified accordingly. Based on the phylogenetic data presented in this study, A. frequens is reduced to synonymy with A. micronesiensis and A. mangaliensis is considered to be a synonym of A. templicola

Cuminum cyminum methanolic extract – Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite: A novel and efficient insecticide against the potato tuber moth (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) to protect potatoes

Phthorimaea operculella is a significant insect pest of cultivated potatoes in tropical and subtropical regions such as Iran. Since the potato is one of the most valuable sources of human food, non-chemical control of potato pests is essential. Application of medicinal plant extracts is a low-risk alternative method to synthetic chemical insecticides. Hence, the present study was conducted to investigate a potential strategy to improve the insecticidal activity of plant extracts for efficient management of P. operculella. The insecticidal efficacy of pure methanolic extract (PME) and Fe3O4@methanolic extract (FME) of Cuminum cyminum were evaluated against the potato tuber moth under laboratory conditions. The morphological characteristics of Fe3O4@Cumin were investigated by scanning electron microscope. Magnetic properties of the samples were determined using a vibration sample magnetometer. XRD was used to prove the crystalline structure of Fe3O4@Cumin. SEM, FTIR, XRD, and VSM analyses confirmed that the methanolic extract was loaded on Fe3O4. The toxicity of PME and Fe3O4@Cumin were evaluated on one-day-old eggs and penetration the first instar larvae of P. operculella into potato tubers and leaves. The LC50 values of Cumin extract and Fe3O4@ Cumin were 961.07 and 601.48 and 496.84 and 268.82 ppm for penetrating neonate larvae to tubers and leaves, and 874.90 and 595.16 ppm for eggs, respectively. Bioassays revealed that Fe3O4@Cumin was more toxic than non-formulated Cumin methanolic extract against eggs and neonate larvae of P. operculella. The formulated methanolic extract was significantly more repellent against the pest. Our results suggested that the prepared nanocomposite could be used as a new effective tool for P. operculella management strategies to protect potatoes

Diatomaceous earth used against insect pests, applied alone or in combination with Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana

Laboratory bioassays were conducted to assess the insecticidal efficacy of the formulation SilicoSec® used alone or in combination with isolates of entomopathogenic fungi, Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschinkoff) Sorokin and Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin. SilicoSec® is a commercial diatomaceous earth (DE) formulation. Wheat was treated with 200 mg/kg of DE, 400 mg/kg of each isolates alone or a combination of them, against Tribolium castaneum Herbst, Rhyzopertha dominica (F.), and Oryzaephilus surinamensis L. The experiments were carried out at 27±1°C and 65±5% relative humidity (RH) in continuous darkness. The pathogenicity of all isolates was significantly low even after 7 days of exposure, with the exception of R. dominica. The isolates were virulent to the beetles, but the efficacy of the isolates was enhanced in combination with the DE. Tribolium castaneum was the most resistant species, followed by R. dominica. The findings indicated that the addition of the DE to the isolates increased the pathogenicity especially at the highest exposure interval. The addition of DE may provide satisfactory control of the insect-pests of stored products

New species of endophytic fungi from grapevine (Vitis vinifera) in Iran

During the study on endophytic fungi of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.), 655 fungal isolates were obtained and studied taxonomically. Based on morphological and ITS sequences data, 15 species belonging to 10 genera including Alternaria brassicicola, A. chlamydospora, A. malorum, A. atra, Arthrinium phaeospermum, A. sacchari, Aspergillus nidulans, A. wentii, Beauveria bassiana, Cheatomium elatum, Epicoccum nigrum, Geosmithia pallida, Paecillomyces variotii, Cytospora punicae, and Verrucobotrys geranii are introduced as endophytic fungi of grapevine. Grapevineis as matrix nova for all mentioned species in Iran. Also, all identified species except A. phaeospermum, B. bassiana, and E. nigrum are reported for the first time as endophytic fungi of grapevine worldwide. Four species viz. A. sacchari, C. punicae, G. pallid, and V. geranii are introduced and described for the first time from Iran

Taxonomic study on the grapevine endophytic fungi in west Azerbaijan

Endophytic fungi are microorganisms that colonize healthy plant tissues inter-and/or intra-cellulary,persisting for the whole or part of its life cycle without causing disease symptoms in the host plant. In spite of their major impact in plant population and communities, they are among the poorly understands group of fungi and there is little know about their abundance, habitat, host preference, ecological impact and biodiversity. Also hope of finding unique secondary metabolites and enzymes that affect plants, herbivores, microbes make their application possible in medicine, agriculture and industry adds to they role and important, so in this study and in order to identification of the endophytic fungi of grapevine, during summer and autumn seasons in 2011, samples from healthy shoots and leaves were collected from the Urmia and Sardasht regions in west Azerbaijan province. Firstly, plant part washed with running tap water for about 15 min before surface treatments. Afterwards, plant parts were washed 4-5 times with sterile distilled water, then surface sterilized for 1 minute in 70% ethanol followed by 15 minutes in 3% sodium hypochlorite, and finally were washed 4-5 times with sterile distilled water. Sterilized plant materials were cut into small pieces and transferred on PDA medium supplemented with streptomycin sulphate. Plates were incubated under constant darkness at 25°C for 1-2 months. Fungi growing were purified with using hyphal tip and single spore methods. Fungal isolates were identified in standard conditions and based on morphological data and sequence data of ITS-rDNA. In this paper viz. Alternaria brassicicola, A. chlamydospora, Aspergillus niger, Emericella nidulans, Beauveria bassiana, Bipolaris spicifera, Epicoccum nigrum, Mucor plumbeus, Phoma glomerata, Rhizoctonia solani, Trichothecium roseum, Truncatella angustata and Ulocladium atrum are introduced. Alternaria species had frequently isolated among the mentioned species. This is the first study on the identification of endophytic fungi from grapevine trees in Iran

Fungal Systematics and Evolution: FUSE 5

Thirteen new species are formally described: Cortinarius brunneocarpus from Pakistan, C lilacinoarmillatus from India, Cur-vularia khuzestanica on Atriplex lentiformis from Iran, Gloeocantharellus neoechinosporus from China, Laboulbenia bernaliana on species of Aperies, Apristus, and Philophuga (Coleoptera, Carabidae) from Nicaragua and Panama, L oioveliicola on Oiovelia machadoi (Hemiptera,Veliidae) from Brazil, L termiticola on Macrotermes subhyalinus (Blattodea.Termitidae) from the DR Congo, Pluteus cutefractus from Slovenia, Rhizoglomus variabile from Peru,Russulaphloginea from China, Stagonosporopsis flaccidu-varum on Vitis vinifera from Italy, Strobilomyces huangshanensis from China, Uromyces klotzschianus on Rumex dentatus subsp klotzschianus from Pakistan.The following new records are reported: Alternaria calendulae on Calendula officinalis from India; A tenuissima on apple and quince fruits from Iran; Candelariella oleaginescens from Turkey; Didymella americana and D calidophi-la on Vitis vinifera from Italy, Lasiodiplodia theobromae causing tip blight of Dianella tasmanica 'variegata' from India; Maras-miellus subpruinosus from Madeira, Portugal, new for Macaronesia and Africa; Mycena albidolilacea, M tenuispinosa, and M xan-tholeuca from Russia; Neonectria neomacrospora on Madhuca longifolia from India; Nothophoma quercina on Vitis vinifera from Italy; Plagiosphaera immersa on Urtica dioica from Austria; Rinodina sicula fromT\irkey, Sphaerosporium lignatile from Wisconsin, USA; and Verrucaria murina fromTurkey Multi-locus analysis of ITS, LSU, rpbl, tefl sequences revealed that P immersa, commonly classified within Gnomoniaceae (Diaporthales) or as Sordariomycetes incertae sedis, belongs to Magnaporthaceae (Magna-porthales) Analysis of a six-locus Ascomycota-wide dataset including SSU and LSU sequences of S lignatile revealed that this species, currently in Ascomycota incertae sedis, belongs to Pyronemataceae (Pezizomycetes.Pezizales)

Fungal Planet description sheets: 1478–1549

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Australia, Aschersonia mackerrasiae on whitefly, Cladosporium corticola on bark of Melaleuca quinquenervia, Penicillium nudgee from soil under Melaleuca quinquenervia, Pseudocercospora blackwoodiae on leaf spot of Persoonia falcata, and Pseudocercospora dalyelliae on leaf spot of Senna alata. Bolivia, Aspicilia lutzoniana on fully submersed siliceous schist in high-mountain streams, and Niesslia parviseta on the lower part and apothecial discs of Erioderma barbellatum onatwig. Brazil, Cyathus bonsai on decaying wood, Geastrum albofibrosum from moist soil with leaf litter, Laetiporus pratigiensis on a trunk of a living unknown hardwood tree species, and Scytalidium synnematicum on dead twigs of unidentified plant. Bulgaria, Amanita abscondita on sandy soil in a plantation of Quercus suber. Canada, Penicillium acericola on dead bark of Acer saccharum, and Penicillium corticola on dead bark of Acer saccharum. China, Colletotrichum qingyuanense on fruit lesion of Capsicum annuum. Denmark, Helminthosphaeria leptospora on corticioid Neohypochnicium cremicolor. Ecuador (Galapagos), Phaeosphaeria scalesiae on Scalesia sp. Finland, Inocybe jacobssonii on calcareouss oils in dry forests and park habitats. France, Cortinarius rufomyrrheus on sandy soil under Pinus pinaster, and Periconia neominutissima on leaves of Poaceae. India, Coprinopsis fragilis on decaying bark of logs, Filoboletus keralensis on unidentified woody substrate, Penicillium sankaranii from soil, Physisporinus tamilnaduensis on the trunk of Azadirachta indica, and Poronia nagaraholensis on elephant dung. Iran, Neosetophoma fic on infected leaves of Ficus elastica. Israel, Cnidariophoma eilatica (incl. Cnidariophoma gen. nov.) from Stylophora pistillata. Italy, Lyophyllum obscurum on acidic soil. Namibia, Aureobasidium faidherbiae on dead leaf of Faidherbia albida, and Aureobasidium welwitschiae on dead leaves of Welwitschia mirabilis. Netherlands, Gaeumannomycella caricigena on dead culms of Carex elongata, Houtenomyces caricicola (incl. Houtenomyces gen. nov.) on culms of Carex disticha, Neodacampia ulmea (incl. Neodacampia gen. nov.) on branch of Ulmus laevis, Niesslia phragmiticola on dead standing culms of Phragmites australis, Pseudopyricularia caricicola on culms of Carex disticha, and Rhodoveronaea nieuwwulvenica on dead bamboo sticks. Norway, Arrhenia similis half-buried and moss-covered pieces of rotting wood in grass-grownpath. Pakistan, Mallocybe ahmadii on soil. Poland, Beskidomyces laricis (incl. Beskidomyces gen. nov.) from resin of Larix decidua ssp. polonica, Lapidomyces epipinicola from sooty mould community on Pinus nigra, and Leptographium granulatum from a gallery of Dendroctonus micans on Picea abies. Portugal, Geoglossum azoricum on mossy areas of laurel forest areas planted with Cryptomeria japonica, and Lunasporangiospora lusitanica from a biofilm covering a bio deteriorated limestone wall. Qatar, Alternaria halotolerans from hypersaline sea water, and Alternaria qatarensis from water sample collected from hypersaline lagoon. South Africa, Alfaria thamnochorti on culm of Thamnochortus fraternus, Knufia aloeicola on Aloe gariepensis, Muriseptatomyces restionacearum (incl.Muriseptatomyces gen. nov.) on culms of Restionaceae, Neocladosporium arctotis on nest of cases of bagworm moths(Lepidoptera, Psychidae) on Arctotis auriculata, Neodevriesia scadoxi on leaves of Scadoxus puniceus, Paraloratospora schoenoplecti on stems of Schoenoplectus lacustris, Tulasnella epidendrea from the roots of Epidendrum × obrienianum, and Xenoidriella cinnamomi (incl. Xenoidriella gen. nov.) on leaf of Cinnamomum camphora. South Korea, Lemonniera fraxinea on decaying leaves of Fraxinus sp. frompond. Spain, Atheniella lauri on the bark of fallen trees of Laurus nobilis, Halocryptovalsa endophytica from surface-sterilised, asymptomatic roots of Salicornia patula, Inocybe amygdaliolens on soil in mixed forest, Inocybe pityusarum on calcareous soil in mixed forest, Inocybe roseobulbipes on acidic soils, Neonectria borealis from roots of Vitis berlandieri × Vitis rupestris, Sympoventuria eucalyptorum on leaves of Eucalyptus sp., and Tuber conchae fromsoil. Sweden, Inocybe bidumensis on calcareous soil. Thailand, Cordyceps sandindaengensis on Lepidoptera pupa, buried in soil, Ophiocordyceps kuchinaraiensis on Coleoptera larva, buried in soil, and Samsoniella winandae on Lepidoptera pupa, buriedinsoil. Taiwan region (China), Neophaeosphaeria livistonae on dead leaf of Livistona rotundifolia. Türkiye, Melanogaster anatolicus on clay loamy soils. UK, Basingstokeomyces allii (incl. Basingstokeomyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Allium schoenoprasum. Ukraine, Xenosphaeropsis corni on recently dead stem of Cornus alba. USA, Nothotrichosporon aquaticum (incl. Nothotrichosporon gen. nov.) from water, and Periconia philadelphiana from swab of coil surface. Morphological and culture characteristics for these new taxa are supported by DNA barcodes