Volume 4 - 2021 - issue 1

1. Unusual thermal resistance of spores of mesophilic fungi

Authors: Rajamani T, Govinda Rajulu MB, Murali TS, Suryanarayanan TS

Recieved: 16 October 2020, Accepted: 23 December 2020, Published: 06 January 2021

Thermophilic fungi are well-known for their ability to grow at high temperatures of 50–60oC. However, our previous research demonstrated the exceptional thermal resistant capability of the spores of some mesophilic fungi. These fungi, isolated from leaf litters of forests that experience frequent ground fires, were resistant to dry heat at 100–115oC. To determine whether these high thermal resistant spores are unique to fungi in flammable forests, we screened leaf endophytes of trees of a mangrove forest that rarely experience ground fire due to its inundated forest floor. Of the 129 endophyte isolates tested, the spores (conidia/ascospores) of 27 and 13 isolates survived an exposure to dry heat at 100oC for 2 hrs and 4 hrs respectively. The ascospores of Chaetomium globosum isolated from the leaves of Rhizophora stylosa survived an exposure to 100oC for 10 h. Presence of melanin synthesis inhibitor reduced the thermal resistance in this fungus suggesting that melanin plays a role in the thermal protection.

Keywords: Ascospore – Conidia – Heat resistance – Melanin

2. A dynamic online documentation of Italian ascomycetes with hosts and substrates: www.italianmicrofungi.org

Authors: Wijesinghe SN, Camporesi E, Wanasinghe DN, Maharachchikumbura SSN, Senanayake IC, Phookamsak R, Hongsanan S, Tibpromma S, Thambugala KM, Luangharn T, McKenzie EHC, Hyde KD

Recieved: 09 July 2020, Accepted: 21 December 2020, Published: 21 January 2021

Early taxonomic studies of ascomycetous microfungi were conducted based on morphological observations. With the advent and advancement of DNA based molecular studies over the last few decades, species, genera, families and orders of Ascomycota have been subjected to rapid taxonomic changes. In the last eight years, we have introduced many novel fungal taxa with numerous new host and country records of ascomycetous microfungi from Italy. Dothideomycetes and Sordariomycetes are the major classes that we have investigated. These fungal species were collected from more than 300 host species in terrestrial habitats of different provinces in Italy. The hosts include shrubs, trees and grasses with the substrates differentiated as branches, stems and leaves. For these taxa, identification and classification were confirmed with comprehensive descriptions, colour illustrations and multi-gene phylogenetic analyses. These studies are scattered in different scientific journals. The online documentation at www.italianmicrofungi.org is a database for arranging all the published data together with novel updates of present and upcoming studies. Notes for species, genera and up-to-date records of Italian ascomycetes with accounts on different hosts and substrates are described here. This website provides a user-friendly and easily accessible framework to extract more information.

Keywords: Classification – Dothideomycetes – Phylogeny – Sordariomycetes – Taxonomy – Webpage

3. First collection of the asexual state of Trichaleurina javanica from nature and the placement of Kumanasamuha

Authors: Iturriaga T, Raudabaugh DB, Karakehian JM, Miller AN, Hodge KT, Pfister DH

Recieved: 10 August 2020, Accepted: 01 February 2021, Published: 09 March 2021

Ascomata of Trichaleurina javanica (Pezizomycetes) are encountered frequently in nature in tropical Asia. Its anamorphic state has been described previously as similar to Kumanasamuha. Our study describes the unusual anamorphic fungal specimen, MOZ170, collected from Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. The fungal strain MOZ170 is identified using ribosomal DNA sequence data, its morphology is described, and morphological differences between the naturally growing anamorph and in vitro derived culture are compared. Phylogenetic placement of Kumanasamuha sundara was also determined using available data. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and partial large ribosomal subunit (LSU) were sequenced. Phylogenetic analyses of LSU supported MOZ170 as the anamorph of T. javanica, and revealed the proper placement of the type species of Kumanasamuha, i.e., K. sundara, within the Dothideomycetes. MOZ170 is characterized by its dark conidiophores growing in tufts, and conidia with curved, appressed crests and ridges. The comparison between naturally growing and in vitro grown cultures showed that the in vitro cultured anamorph had larger conidiogenous cells, larger conidia, and longer and more numerous lateral fertile branches compared to the fungus in nature. The present report represents the first anamorph collected from nature for this genus and one of the few natural collections of the anamorphic state within Chorioactidaceae with the exception of those of Desmazierella species.

Keywords: Chorioactidaceae – Gorongosa National Park – Mozambique

4. Ganoderma research activities and development in Namibia: A review

Authors: Ueitele ISE, Horn LN, Kadhila NP

Recieved: 07 October 2020, Accepted: 15 February 2021, Published: 16 March 2021

Medicinal mushrooms have provided a natural source of bioactive compounds since ancient times. Ganoderma is such a mushroom, which has worldwide recognition as a medicinally important mushroom. In this review, the authors provide a detailed summary of indigenous Ganoderma research in Namibia, looking at the ethnomycology, biological activity, physicochemical properties, food quality and safety, as well as cultivation of this mushroom. In this paper, all available records of Ganoderma research in Namibia were retrieved from the University of Namibia Institutional Repository with the keyword “Ganoderma”. Ten theses and four peer-reviewed articles with a total of 10 authors and 12 subjects, including ethnomedicinal plants, domestication, active compounds, medicinal and AIDS were reviewed. The main objective of this review is to guide researchers on the direction for future research and product development of Ganoderma in Namibia. The literature review highlights the potential to establish research and development activities of indigenous Namibian Ganoderma species. The study identifies an important knowledge gap on Ganoderma research, such as the complete morphological and molecular description of species, regulation and standardization of metabolites and characterization of novel compounds identified in indigenous Namibian Ganoderma. The domestication and cultivation of medicinal and edible mushrooms provide an excellent opportunity to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of promoting good health and well-being (SDG 3), nutrition (SDG 2: Zero Hunger), and income generation (SDG 1: no poverty).

Keywords: biologically active – ethnomycology – indigenous – mushroom product

5. Current status of research on Rust fungi (Pucciniales) in India

Authors: Gautam AK, Avasthi S, Verma RK, Devadatha B, Sushma, Ranadive KR, Bhadauria R, Prasher IB, Kashyap PL

Recieved: 09 October 2020, Accepted: 05 February 2021, Published: 22 March 2021

Rust fungi show unique systematic characteristics among all fungal groups. A single species of rust fungi may produce up to five morphologically and cytologically distinct spore-producing structures thereby attracting the interest of mycologist for centuries. In India, the research on rust fungi started with the arrival of foreign visiting scientists or emigrant experts, mainly from Britain who collected fungi and sent specimens to European laboratories for identification. Later on, a number of mycologists from India and abroad studied Indian rust fungi and contributed a lot to knowledge of the rusts to the Indian Mycobiota. The establishment of Imperial Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) at Pusa (Bihar) in 1905 was the key achievement of pre-independent India which laid the foundation for many useful research on Indian rust fungi and in producing many renowned mycologists. This study presents the history of the study of rust fungi in India with complete information from various journals, books, websites and institutions involved. Detailed information of decadal publication records of rust fungi in India published in various journals have been included. Apart from the addition of a complete list of literature on Indian rust fungi, the future scope of research on rust fungi in India along with problems and challenges are also discussed. In a nutshell, this compendium will be quite useful for mycologists, especially beginners to find all available information on Indian rust fungi in one document.

Keywords: fungi – history – Indian Mycology – mycological institutes – mycological websites and journals

6. New host record of Heterosphaeria linariae (Heterosphaeriaceae, Helotiales) from Peucedanum cervaria in Italy

Authors: Phutthacharoen K, Chethana KWT, McKenzie EHC, Hyde KD

Recieved: 21 September 2020, Accepted: 27 January 2021, Published: 16 April 2021

Heterosphaeria (Helotiales) comprises ten species characterized by apothecial fruiting bodies with thick walled tissues of interwoven excipulum, cartilaginous hyphae covering the external part of the cortex and dark coloured cells. A species of Heterosphaeria was collected from a dead stem of Peucedanum cervaria in Italy. Phylogenetic analysis based on combined gene regions of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the large subunit of nuclear ribosomal RNA (LSU) sequence dataset along with the morphological characteristics confirmed that our isolate is Heterosphaeria linariae. Here, we report H. linariae as a new host record from Peucedanum cervaria in Italy. A detailed description and illustrations of the sexual and asexual morph of H. linariae and an updated phylogenetic tree for Heterosphaeria are provided.

Keywords: antimicrobial – aromatic polyketides – natural colouring agents – pigment characterization

7. A review on pigment producing soil fungi and its applications

Authors: Anugraha AC & Thomas T

Recieved: 23 November 2020, Accepted: 18 February 2021, Published: 16 April 2021

Much interest has been brought to microbial pigments owing to their broad-spectrum of industrial applications coupled with their safe and eco-friendly characteristics. Soil fungi have been explored as a feasible resource of natural colouring agents and have been used as a safer alternative to synthetic hues. In addition to the colouring ability, many of the fungal pigments are known to possess antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic properties, which extend their use in a multidimensional angle. The present review discusses the different pigments derived from soil fungi, the influence of culture conditions on pigment production, various methods of extraction techniques, diverse pigment characterization techniques and their applications. In addition to the advantages of fungal pigments, a lot of challenges pertaining to the use of fungal pigments are also delineated.

Keywords: antimicrobial – aromatic polyketides – natural colouring agents – pigment characterization

8. AJOM new records and collections of fungi: 101-150

Authors: Chethana KWT, Niranjan M, Dong W, Samarakoon MC, Bao DF, Calabon MS, Chaiwan N, Chuankid B, Dayarathne MC, de Silva NI, Devadatha B, Dissanayake AJ, Goonasekara ID, Huanraluek N, Jayawardena RS, Karunarathna A, Luo ZL, Marasinghe DS, Ma XY, Norphanphoun C, Pem D, Perera RH, Rathnayaka AR, Raspé O, Samarakoon BC, Senwanna C, Sun YR, Tang X, Thiyagaraja V, Tennakoon DS, Zeng M, Zeng XY, Zhang JY, Zhang SN, Bulgakov TS, Camporesi E, Sarma VV, Wang Y, Bhat D, Hyde KD

Recieved: 17 February 2020, Accepted: 15 March 2021, Published: 27 May 2021

This article is the second in the Asian Journal of Mycology Notes series, wherein we report 50 new fungal collections distributed in two phyla, six classes, 23 orders and 38 families. The present study provides descriptions and illustrations for three new species (Acolium yunnanense, Muyocopron cinnamomi and Thyrostroma ulmeum), 44 new host records and new geographical distributions and three new reference collections. All these introductions are supported by morphological data as well as the multi-gene phylogenetic analyses. This article provides a venue to publish fungal collections with new sequence data, which is important for future studies. An accurate and timely report of new fungus-host or fungus-county records are essential for diagnostics, identification and management of economically significant fungal groups, especially the phytopathogens.

Keywords: 3 new taxa – 44 new records – Ascomycota – Basidomycota – Dothideomycetes – Molecular phylogeny – Sordariomycetes – Taxonomy

9. Effect of Mycorrhiza on the Growth of Paraserianthes falcataria (L.) I.C Nielson under Hg-contamination

Authors: Latifah I, Idris, Napitupulu TP, Ramadhani I, Ikhwani AZN, Kanti A, Sudiana IM, Prasetya B

Recieved: 09 September 2020, Accepted: 08 February 2021, Published: 27 May 2021

Mercury (Hg) at 50 mg kg-1 is toxic to microorganisms, but its toxicity to Arbuscular Mycorrhizae Fungi (AMF) associated with Paraserianthes falcataria (L.) I.C. Nielsen has not been widely studied. Effect of Hg on seed germination was evaluated to measure the rate of seed deterioration. The toxic concentration obtained from the germination study was used to adjust the Hg concentration of media for the seedling growth study. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Hg on mycorrhiza. The research was conducted in two consecutive experiments. Rate of germination of seed under mercury condition, soil physicochemical properties, the profile of symbiont (AMF), and soil microbial activities were measured. Microbial activities were assayed using Fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis and phosphatase activities. Seed germination was inhibited to 21.67–81.85% by Hg in a range of 30-100 mg L-1 Hg. The medium dose was chosen to evaluate the behavior of the symbiont (AMF) and its effect on soil physicochemical properties. Mercury inhibits microbial activity. Combination of compost and AMF treatment reduced toxicity effect while increasing soil microbial activity.

Keywords: FDA – Germination – Hg-toxication – Mycorrhiza – Paraserianthes falcataria – Phosphatase

10. Low temperature induces Polyporus umbellatus sclerotia formation on nutrient media

Authors: Pasailiuk MV

Recieved: 02 February 2021, Accepted: 26 May 2021, Published: 18 June 2021

This experiment demonstrates that Polyporus umbellatus produces sclerotia on Wort Agar (WA) and Malt Extract Agar (MEA) at low temperature. After six months of cultivation on WA at 4±1 ºC, P. umbellatus 2510 formed white irregular-formed sclerotia grouped at the edges of the petri dish while P. umbellatus 2511 formed white spherical sclerotia in the center of the petri dish. After four months of cultivation on MEA at 4±1 ºC, P. umbellatus 2511 formed white spherical sclerotia near the walls of the petri dish.

Keywords: cultivation – malt extract agar – stress – wort agar

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