Systematics of Hypocrea citrina and related taxa

Morphological studies and phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences from three genomic regions – the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of the nuclear ribosomal gene repeat, a partial sequence of RNA polymerase II subunit (rpb2), and a partial sequence of translation elongation factor (tef1) – were used to investigate the systematics of Hypocrea citrina and related species. A neotype specimen is designated for H. citrina that conforms to Persoon's description of a yellow effuse fungus occurring on leaf litter. Historical information and results obtained in this study provide the foundation for selection of a lectotype specimen from Fries's herbarium for H. lactea. The results indicate that (1) Hypocrea citrina and H. pulvinata are distinct species; (2) H. lactea sensu Fries is a synonym of the older name H. citrina; (3) H. pulvinata, H. protopulvinata, and H. americana are phylogenetically distinct species that form a well-supported polyporicolous clade; (4) H. citrina is situated in a clade closely related to H. pulvinata; and (5) H. microcitrina and H. pseudostraminea reside in a highly supported clade phylogenetically distinct from H. citrina. Hypocrea protopulvinata, H. microcitrina, H. megalocitrina, H. pseudostraminea, and a new species, H. aurantiistroma, are reported and described from North America. Variation in rpb2 and tef1 gene sequences suggests geographical subgroupings between European and North American isolates of H. pulvinata. The phylogenies inferred from ITS, rpb2, and tef1 gene sequences are concordant. Hypocrea citrina var. americana is elevated to species status, Hypocrea americana

Hypocrea rufa/Trichoderma viride: a reassessment, and description of five closely related species with and without warted conidia

The type species of the genus Hypocrea (Hypocreaceae, Hypocreales, Ascomycota, Fungi), H. rufa, is re-defined and epitypified using a combination of phenotype (morphology of teleomorphs and anamorphs, and characteristics in culture) and phylogenetic analyses of the translation-elongation factor 1α gene. Its anamorph, T. viride, the type species of Trichoderma, is re-described and epitypified. Eidamia viridescens is combined as Trichoderma viridescens and is recognised as one of the most morphologically and phylogenetically similar relatives of T. viride. Its teleomorph is newly described as Hypocrea viridescens. Contrary to frequent citations of H. rufa and T. viride in the literature, this species is relatively rare. Although both T. viride and T. viridescens have a wide geographic distribution, their greatest genetic diversity appears to be in Europe and North America. Hypocrea vinosa is characterised and its anamorph, T. vinosum sp. nov., is described. Conidia of T. vinosum are subglobose and warted. The new species T. gamsii is proposed. It shares eidamia-like morphology of conidiophores with T. viridescens, but it has smooth, ellipsoidal conidia that have the longest L/W ratio that we have seen in Trichoderma. Trichoderma scalesiae, an endophyte of trunks of Scalesia pedunculata in the Galapagos Islands, is described as new. It only produces conidia on a low-nutrient agar to which filter paper has been added. Additional phylogenetically distinct clades are recognised and provisionally delimited from the species here described. Trichoderma neokoningii, a T. koningii-like species, is described from a collection made in Peru on a fruit of Theobroma cacao infected with Moniliophthora roreri

Species diversity of Trichoderma in Poland

In the present study, we reinvestigate the diversity of Trichoderma in Poland utilizing a combination of morphological and molecular/phylogenetic methods. A total of 170 isolates were collected from six different substrata at 49 sites in Poland. These were divided among 14 taxa as follows: 110 of 170 Trichoderma isolates were identified to the species level by the analysis of their ITS1, ITS2 rDNA sequences as: T. harzianum (43 isolates), T. aggressivum (35), T. citrinoviride (11), T. hamatum (9), T. virens (6), T. longibrachiatum (4), T. polysporum (1), and T. tomentosum (1); 60 isolates belonging to the Viride clade were identified based on a fragment of the translation-elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1) gene as: T. atroviride (20 isolates), T. gamsii (2), T. koningii (17), T. viridescens (13), T. viride (7), and T. koningiopsis (1). Identifications were made using the BLAST interface in TrichOKEY and TrichoBLAST (http://www.isth.info). The most diverse substrata were soil (nine species per 22 isolates) and decaying wood (nine species per 75 isolates). The most abundant species (25%) isolated from all substrata was T. harzianum

The Trichoderma koningii aggregate species

The morphological concept of Trichoderma koningii is found to include several species that differ from each other in details of phenotype (including conidium morphology, growth rate) and biogeography. Phylogenetic analysis utilizing partial sequences of the translation-elongation factor 1 alpha (tef1), as well as fragments of actin and calmodulin genes, indicate that phenotypic characters typical of T. koningii evolved independently in three well-separated main lineages. Combined molecular and phenotype data lead to the development of a taxonomy with the recognition of twelve taxonomic species and one variety within the three lineages. These lineages include: (1) T. koningii and T. ovalisporum and the new species T. caribbaeum var. caribbaeum, T. caribbaeum var. aequatoriale, T. dorotheae, T. dingleyae, T. intricatum, T. koningiopsis, T. petersenii and T. taiwanense; (2) the new species T. rogersonii and T. austrokoningii, and (3) the new anamorph T. stilbohypoxyli