Fungal Planet description sheets : 951–1041

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Antarctica,Apenidiella antarctica from permafrost, Cladosporium fildesense from an unidentified marine sponge. Argentina,Geastrum wrightii on humus in mixed forest. Australia, Golovinomyces glandulariae on Glandularia aristigera,Neoanungitea eucalyptorum on leaves of Eucalyptus grandis, Teratosphaeria corymbiicola on leaves of Corymbiaficifolia, Xylaria eucalypti on leaves of Eucalyptus radiata. Brazil, Bovista psammophila on soil, Fusarium awaxy onrotten stalks of Zea mays, Geastrum lanuginosum on leaf litter covered soil, Hermetothecium mikaniae-micranthae(incl. Hermetothecium gen. nov.) on Mikania micrantha, Penicillium reconvexovelosoi in soil, Stagonosporopsis vannacciifrom pod of Glycine max. British Virgin Isles, Lactifluus guanensis on soil. Canada, Sorocybe oblongisporaon resin of Picea rubens. Chile, Colletotrichum roseum on leaves of Lapageria rosea. China, Setophoma cavernafrom carbonatite in Karst cave. Colombia, Lareunionomyces eucalypticola on leaves of Eucalyptus grandis. CostaRica, Psathyrella pivae on wood. Cyprus, Clavulina iris on calcareous substrate. France, Chromosera ambiguaand Clavulina iris var. occidentalis on soil. French West Indies, Helminthosphaeria hispidissima on dead wood.Guatemala, Talaromyces guatemalensis in soil. Malaysia, Neotracylla pini (incl. Tracyllales ord. nov. and Neotracyllagen. nov.) and Vermiculariopsiella pini on needles of Pinus tecunumanii. New Zealand, Neoconiothyriumviticola on stems of Vitis vinifera, Parafenestella pittospori on Pittosporum tenuifolium, Pilidium novae-zelandiaeon Phoenix sp. Pakistan, Russula quercus-floribundae on forest floor. Portugal, Trichoderma aestuarinum fromsaline water. Russia, Pluteus liliputianus on fallen branch of deciduous tree, Pluteus spurius on decaying deciduous wood or soil. South Africa, Alloconiothyrium encephalarti, Phyllosticta encephalarticola and Neothyrostromaencephalarti (incl. Neothyrostroma gen. nov.) on leaves of Encephalartos sp., Chalara eucalypticola on leaf spots ofEucalyptus grandis x urophylla, Clypeosphaeria oleae on leaves of Olea capensis, Cylindrocladiella postalofficiumon leaf litter of Sideroxylon inerme, Cylindromonium eugeniicola (incl. Cylindromonium gen. nov.) on leaf litter ofEugenia capensis, Cyphellophora goniomatis on leaves of Gonioma kamassi, Nothodactylaria nephrolepidis (incl.Nothodactylaria gen. nov. and Nothodactylariaceae fam. nov.) on leaves of Nephrolepis exaltata, Falcocladiumeucalypti and Gyrothrix eucalypti on leaves of Eucalyptus sp., Gyrothrix oleae on leaves of Olea capensis subsp.macrocarpa, Harzia metro-sideri on leaf litter of Metrosideros sp., Hippopotamyces phragmitis (incl. Hippopotamycesgen. nov.) on leaves of Phragmites australis, Lectera philenopterae on Philenoptera violacea, Leptosilliamayteni on leaves of Maytenus heterophylla, Lithohypha aloicola and Neoplatysporoides aloes on leaves of Aloesp., Millesimomyces rhoicissi (incl. Millesimomyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Rhoicissus digitata, Neodevriesiastrelitziicola on leaf litter of Strelitzia nicolai, Neokirramyces syzygii (incl. Neokirramyces gen. nov.) on leaf spots of Syzygium sp., Nothoramichloridium perseae (incl. Nothoramichloridium gen. nov. and Anungitiomycetaceae fam.nov.) on leaves of Persea americana, Paramycosphaerella watsoniae on leaf spots of Watsonia sp., Penicilliumcuddlyae from dog food, Podocarpomyces knysnanus (incl. Podocarpomyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Podocarpusfalcatus, Pseudocercospora heteropyxidicola on leaf spots of Heteropyxis natalensis, Pseudopenidiella podocarpi,Scolecobasidium podocarpi and Ceramothyrium podocarpicola on leaves of Podocarpus latifolius, Scolecobasidiumblechni on leaves of Blechnum capense, Stomiopeltis syzygii on leaves of Syzygium chordatum, Strelitziomycesknysnanus (incl. Strelitziomyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Strelitzia alba, Talaromyces clemensii from rotting wood ingoldmine, Verrucocladosporium visseri on Carpobrotus edulis. Spain, Boletopsis mediterraneensis on soil, Calycinacortegadensisi on a living twig of Castanea sativa, Emmonsiellopsis tuberculata in fluvial sediments, Mollisia cortegadensison dead attached twig of Quercus robur, Psathyrella ovispora on soil, Pseudobeltrania lauri on leaf litterof Laurus azorica, Terfezia dunensis in soil, Tuber lucentum in soil, Venturia submersa on submerged plant debris.Thailand, Cordyceps jakajanicola on cicada nymph, Cordyceps kuiburiensis on spider, Distoseptispora caricis onleaves of Carex sp., Ophiocordyceps khonkaenensis on cicada nymph. USA, Cytosporella juncicola and Davidiellomycesjuncicola on culms of Juncus effusus, Monochaetia massachusettsianum from air sample, Neohelicomycesmelaleucae and Periconia neobrittanica on leaves of Melaleuca styphelioides x lanceolata, Pseudocamarosporiumeucalypti on leaves of Eucalyptus sp., Pseudogymnoascus lindneri from sediment in a mine, Pseudogymnoascusturneri from sediment in a railroad tunnel, Pulchroboletus sclerotiorum on soil, Zygosporium pseudomasonii onleaf of Serenoa repens. Vietnam, Boletus candidissimus and Veloporphyrellus vulpinus on soil. Morphological andculture characteristics are supported by DNA barcodes

4to. Congreso Internacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación para la Sociedad. Memoria académica

Este volumen acoge la memoria académica de la Cuarta edición del Congreso Internacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación para la Sociedad, CITIS 2017, desarrollado entre el 29 de noviembre y el 1 de diciembre de 2017 y organizado por la Universidad Politécnica Salesiana (UPS) en su sede de Guayaquil. El Congreso ofreció un espacio para la presentación, difusión e intercambio de importantes investigaciones nacionales e internacionales ante la comunidad universitaria que se dio cita en el encuentro. El uso de herramientas tecnológicas para la gestión de los trabajos de investigación como la plataforma Open Conference Systems y la web de presentación del Congreso http://citis.blog.ups.edu.ec/, hicieron de CITIS 2017 un verdadero referente entre los congresos que se desarrollaron en el país. La preocupación de nuestra Universidad, de presentar espacios que ayuden a generar nuevos y mejores cambios en la dimensión humana y social de nuestro entorno, hace que se persiga en cada edición del evento la presentación de trabajos con calidad creciente en cuanto a su producción científica. Quienes estuvimos al frente de la organización, dejamos plasmado en estas memorias académicas el intenso y prolífico trabajo de los días de realización del Congreso Internacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación para la Sociedad al alcance de todos y todas

Identification and Functional Analysis of the Mycophenolic Acid Gene Cluster of Penicillium roqueforti.

The filamentous fungus Penicillium roqueforti is widely known as the ripening agent of blue-veined cheeses. Additionally, this fungus is able to produce several secondary metabolites, including the meroterpenoid compound mycophenolic acid (MPA). Cheeses ripened with P. roqueforti are usually contaminated with MPA. On the other hand, MPA is a commercially valuable immunosuppressant. However, to date the molecular basis of the production of MPA by P. roqueforti is still unknown. Using a bioinformatic approach, we have identified a genomic region of approximately 24.4 kbp containing a seven-gene cluster that may be involved in the MPA biosynthesis in P. roqueforti. Gene silencing of each of these seven genes (named mpaA, mpaB, mpaC, mpaDE, mpaF, mpaG and mpaH) resulted in dramatic reductions in MPA production, confirming that all of these genes are involved in the biosynthesis of the compound. Interestingly, the mpaF gene, originally described in P. brevicompactum as a MPA self-resistance gene, also exerts the same function in P. roqueforti, suggesting that this gene has a dual function in MPA metabolism. The knowledge of the biosynthetic pathway of MPA in P. roqueforti will be important for the future control of MPA contamination in cheeses and the improvement of MPA production for commercial purposes

The pcz1 gene, which encodes a Zn(II)2Cys6 protein, is involved in the control of growth, conidiation, and conidial germination in the filamentous fungus Penicillium roqueforti.

Proteins containing Zn(II)(2)Cys(6) domains are exclusively found in fungi and yeasts. Genes encoding this class of proteins are broadly distributed in fungi, but few of them have been functionally characterized. In this work, we have characterized a gene from the filamentous fungus Penicillium roqueforti that encodes a Zn(II)(2)Cys(6) protein, whose function to date remains unknown. We have named this gene pcz1. We showed that the expression of pcz1 is negatively regulated in a P. roqueforti strain containing a dominant active Gαi protein, suggesting that pcz1 encodes a downstream effector that is negatively controlled by Gαi. More interestingly, the silencing of pcz1 in P. roqueforti using RNAi-silencing technology resulted in decreased apical growth, the promotion of conidial germination (even in the absence of a carbon source), and the strong repression of conidiation, concomitant with the downregulation of the genes of the central conidiation pathway brlA, abaA and wetA. A model for the participation of pcz1 in these physiological processes in P. roqueforti is proposed

The biosynthetic gene cluster for andrastin A in Penicillium roqueforti

© 2017 Rojas-Aedo, Gil-Durán, Del-Cid, Valdés, álamos, Vaca, García-Rico, Levicán, Tello and Chávez. Penicillium roqueforti is a filamentous fungus involved in the ripening of several kinds of blue cheeses. In addition, this fungus produces several secondary metabolites, including the meroterpenoid compound andrastin A, a promising antitumoral compound. However, to date the genomic cluster responsible for the biosynthesis of this compound in P. roqueforti has not been described. In this work, we have sequenced and annotated a genomic region of approximately 29.4 kbp (named the adr gene cluster) that is involved in the biosynthesis of andrastin A in P. roqueforti. This region contains ten genes, named adrA, adrC, adrD, adrE, adrF, adrG, adrH, adrI, adrJ and adrK. Interestingly, the adrB gene previously found in the adr cluster from P. chrysogenum, was found as a residual pseudogene in the adr cluster from P. roqueforti. RNA-mediated gene silencing of each of the ten genes resulted in s

Role of sfk1 gene in the filamentous fungus Penicillium roqueforti

© 2017 Torrent, Gil-Durán, Rojas-Aedo, Medina, Vaca, Castro, García-Rico, Cotoras, Mendoza, Levicán and Chávez. The sfk1 (suppressor of four kinase) gene has been mainly studied in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, where it was shown to be involved in growth and thermal stress resistance. This gene is widely conserved within the phylum Ascomycota. Despite this, to date sfk1 has not been studied in any filamentous fungus. Previously, we found that the orthologous of sfk1 was differentially expressed in a strain of Penicillium roqueforti with an altered phenotype. In this work, we have performed a functional characterization of this gene by using RNAi-silencing technology. The silencing of sfk1 in P. roqueforti resulted in decreased apical growth and the promotion of conidial germination, but interesting, it had no effect on conidiation. In addition, the attenuation of the sfk1 expression sensitized the fungus to osmotic stress, but not to thermal stress. RNA-mediated gene-silencing of sfk1 als

qRT-PCR analysis of the expression of <i>mpa</i> genes in RNAi-silenced transformants of <i>P</i>. <i>roqueforti</i>.

<p>The RNAi-silenced transformants selected were T4 and T7 for <i>mpaA</i>, T1 and T7 for <i>mpaB</i>, T5 and T6 for <i>mpaC</i>, T1 and T2 for <i>mpaDE</i>, T4 and T6 for <i>mpaF</i>, T2 and T3 for <i>mpaG</i>, and T5 and T6 for <i>mpaH</i>. Total RNA extractions and qRT-PCR experiments were conducted as described in Materials and Methods. Wild-type <i>P</i>. <i>roqueforti</i> CECT 2905 (WT) and <i>P</i>. <i>roqueforti</i> CECT 2905 containing empty pJL43-RNAi vector (E) were used as controls. Error bars represent the standard deviation of three replicates in three different experiments. The differences were considered statistically significant at <i>P</i> < 0.05 (*) using Student’s <i>t</i>-test.</p

Sensitivity towards MPA of transformant T6, with attenuated expression of <i>mpaF</i>, and wild-type <i>P</i>. <i>roqueforti</i>.

<p>Ten-fold serial dilutions (10⁶ to 10) of spores from T6 and the wild-type strain (WT) were spotted on CYA plates with (+MPA) or without (-MPA) 100 μg MPA/ml. Please note the reduction in the germination of spores of transformant T6 in presence of MPA, especially evident at dilutions 10⁴ and 10³, compared with the wild-type strain.</p