Volume 6 - 2023 - issue 1

1. Erratum to: Partial mutual exclusion of ectomycorrhizal and saprobic fungi in a tropical seasonal rainforest

Authors: Ediriweera AN, Karunarathna SC, Xu J, Hyde KD, Mortimer PE, Schaefer DA

Recieved: 10 February 2023, Accepted: 15 February 2023, Published: 03 March 2023

The original publication contains the following errors: Tables 1 and 2 of the original research article contained the macrofungi collected from all the substrates (soil, fallen branches, twigs and other woody material) in plots that should have been contained with names of macrofungi collected only from soil and woody material burried in the soil

Keywords: N/A

2. Cultivation and determination of nutrient contents of an edible wild Thai Hymenopellis

Authors: Niego AG, Hu Y, Luangharn T, Thongklang N

Recieved: 22 October 2022, Accepted: 15 February 2023, Published: 23 March 2023

Hymenopellis species are taxonomically well-studied and widely distributed in tropical and temperate regions. It is well-documented in eastern and north America and can also be found in several Asian countries, including Thailand. In this study, we collected a wild Hymenopellis specimen in northern Thailand. The morphological and phylogenetic analyses inferred from a combination of the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) and the large subunit (nrLSU) of ribosomal DNA confirmed the taxonomic placement of the collected specimen to the genus Hymenopellis. Limited studies have documented the cultivation of Hymenopellis species. So far, only China commercially cultivates this mushroom. Pure mycelium was isolated from the internal tissues on malt extract agar (MEA). Sorghum grain was used in spawn preparation. Spawns were inoculated in bags of four different substrate formulas, and sawdust was used as the main substrate and other additives. The cultivation process was conducted for four months. Hymenopellis sp. (MFLU 19-1658) has an average yield ranging from 10.8±17.9 to 115.5±73.5 grams of basidiomata per substrate formula with an average biological efficiency ranging from 3.0±5.0 to 32.1±20.4% with the highest values exhibited by (A) sawdust (98%) + CaO (1%) + gypsum (1%), followed by (B) sawdust (30%) + corncobs (60%) + rice bran (8%) + CaO (1%) + gypsum (1%). The nutrient contents of the cultivated basidiomata were also determined in this study. The results indicated that the obtained basidiomata contained carbohydrate, crude fat, crude fiber, and protein at 49.2, 8.0, 16.5, and 17.8%, respectively. This study is the first to document the nutrient contents of the genus Hymenopellis.

Keywords: basidiomata production – biological efficiency – nutrition – phylogeny – yield

3. Mini-review: Immunomodulating fungi for feed additives

Authors: Abashina T, Antipova T, Zhelifonova V, Vainshtein M

Recieved: 21 August 2022, Accepted: 26 January 2023, Published: 11 April 2023

Restriction of the feed antibiotics in the diet of farm animals formed a new economical and research challenge: a necessity for new feed additives which are able to provide immunomodulating effects. The review summarizes some international experience with the application of immunomodulating feed additives. There are numerous species/strains of fungi which could serve as immunomodulators. According to the known data, fungal activity has been established and well-known; however, till the present time, fungal preparations are not widespread because their production is complicated, time-consuming, and expensive. In this brief essay, we present information on some immunomodulating fungal feed additives as well as show the possibility of fungal cultivation directly on feed substrates to combine the immunomodulating additives and feed as a waste-free organic whole.

Keywords: Feed additive – Immunomodulating fungi – Residue-free cultivation

4. Identification, characterisation, and localisation of hyaline spore-forming endophytic fungi in tissues of Echinochloa glabrescens Munro ex Hook. f.

Authors: Donayre DKM, Dalisay TU

Recieved: 23 August 2022, Accepted: 06 March 2023, Published: 12 April 2023

The information on the identities, characteristics, and tissue-specificity of dark spore-forming endophytic fungi in tissues of E. glabrescens had already been known. However, less information is available when it comes to hyaline spore-forming (HSF) ones. Therefore, seeds, leaves, leaf sheaths, and roots of healthy and mature E. glabrescens were sampled to determine and describe the identities, characteristics, and tissue locations of HSF endophytic fungi. Of the 147 isolates recovered in the dry season, 60 belonged to Fusarium; 55 to Trichoconiella; 11 to EF-ds163; eight to EF-ds571; four to EF-ds290; two each to Aspergillus, Hansfordia, and Peyronallaea; and one each to Colletotrichum, Geotrichum, and Mucor. Of the 415 isolates recovered in the wet season, 196 belonging to Trichoconiella, 115 to Hansfordia, 67 to Colletotrichum, 20 to Fusarium, six to Penicillium, five to Paecilomyces, three to Aspergillus, and one each to Geotrichum, Humicola, and Mucor. Fusarium sp. ds529 and Hansfordia sp. ds143 were the most dominant in the seeds. Trichoconiella sp. ds333, Hansfordia sp. ds143, and Colletotrichum sp. ds361 are dominant in the upper leaves; Trichoconiella sp. ds333 and Hansfordia sp. ds143 in the lower leaves; and Trichoconiella sp. ds333 in the leaf sheaths and roots. This study confirmed that HSF endophytic fungi also reside in different tissues of E. glabrescens.

Keywords: barnyard grass – fungal diversity – summed-dominance ratio

5. Antibacterial potential of endolichenic fungi from lichen Usnea

Authors: Dumo ED, Espino AJT, Lina FD, Pua KD, Paguirigan JAG

Recieved: 08 October 2022, Accepted: 05 May 2023, Published: 25 May 2023

Lichens are unique organisms with medicinal benefits. However, lichens and endolichenic fungi in the Philippines are relatively less explored. In this study, the host lichen Usnea samples were collected from Mt. Talinis, Valencia, Negros Oriental and were surface sterilized for the isolation of endolichenic fungi. The endolichenic fungi were grown in culture, and secondary metabolites were extracted using ethyl acetate. The antibacterial activities of the crude culture extracts were analyzed against Acinetobacter baumannii, Enterococcus faecium, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pantoea agglomerans, and Staphylococcus aureus through disk diffusion assay. Following morphological characterization, the host lichens were identified as Usnea baileyi, U. barbata, U. bismolliuscula, U. chaetophora, U. cornuta, and U. longissima, from which six endolichenic fungi were chosen. Results of the paper disk diffusion assay showed that Oidiodendron sp. inhibited the growth of Klebsiella pneumoniae (30 mm ZOI), and Geotrichum sp. inhibited the growth of Pantoea agglomerans (16 mm ZOI). Our study confirms that endolichenic fungi isolated from the fruticose lichen Usnea can be a promising source of secondary metabolites with antibacterial activity.

Keywords: antimicrobial – antibacterial – bioactivity – lichen – secondary metabolites – endolichenic fungi – zone of inhibition – Usnea, crude extract

6. Mangrove fungi: A glimpse into Africa, its diversity and biotechnological potential

Authors: Myovela H, Hussein JM, Tibuhwa DD

Recieved: 10 February 2023, Accepted: 10 May 2023, Published: 25 May 2023

African Mangroves are among the unique forest ecosystems dominating mostly the coastal waters of the Indian Ocean that provide habitat for diversified biodiversity, including fungi. Mangrove fungal diversity represents the largest untapped reservoir of biodiversity for the potential discovery of new pharmaceuticals, enzymes, and unique bio compounds used for various biotechnological applications. However, they have been highly underappreciated. For ages, fungi from the marine environment have been considered aliens with low species diversity and richness, partly due to poor techniques deployed in exploring them. Advancement of culture-independent approaches, especially next-generation sequencing (NGS), has unveiled a tremendous fungal diversity, once hidden in plain sight in the surrounding environment. A spark of interest ignited in mycological and biotechnological research, and scientists focus on mangrove fungi to unearth novel metabolites with anticancer, antimicrobial, and biotechnological potentials. Many studies of marine endophytic fungi revealed a significant gap in the documentation of African mangrove fungi, their study methods, and their metabolites of biotechnological potential. This review highlights the information gap on African mangrove fungal diversity and the biotechnological potential of their metabolites for pharmaceutical and industrial applications. In addition, the study will discuss techniques used for their isolation and characterization.

Keywords: Ascomycete – Bioactive compounds – Endophytic fungi – Mangrove forest – Marine ecosystem.

7. Cystoderma lignicola, a new species from southwestern China

Authors: Liu JW, Luangharn T, Yu FQ

Recieved: 22 December 2022, Accepted: 11 May 2023, Published: 30 May 2023

In this study, we describe a new species, Cystoderma lignicola, collected from rotten woods in the temperate region in Yunnan Province, southwestern China. Our new species was described based on macro- and micro-morphological characteristics and molecular data of combined internal transcribed spacers (ITS) and large subunit (nrLSU) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences. Cystoderma lignicola is characterized by its light orange to brown cap, globose, subglobose, ellipsoid to broadly ellipsoid basidiospores, with 4–5 × 3–4 μm diam. Phylogenetically, C. lignicola showed a sister clade to C. chocoanum with statistical support of SH-aLRT/UFB = 90.9/90 in maximum likelihood analysis and statistical support of BPP = 0.99 in the Bayesian analysis.

Keywords: Amyloid basidiospore – phylogenetic analysis – saprotrophic – Squamanitaceae – taxonomy

8. Morphological and molecular Characterization of Pythium s.l. species from Khyber Pakthunkhwa province, Pakistan, with some new records and description of Globisporangium ghaffarianum sp. nov.

Authors: Abdul Haq M, Shahzad S, Qamarunnisa S, Rajput AQ, Sattar S.

Recieved: 09 March 2023, Accepted: 12 May 2023, Published: 31 May 2023

Pythium s.l. is an ecologically important taxon of the phylum Oomycota that lives in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems as saprobes. Many species are facultative parasites of plants, causing losses worldwide. Thirty-six putative isolates of the genus from the District Bajaur were characterised morphologically and molecularly during the present studies. Globisporangium ghaffarianum sp. nov. is introduced as a novel taxon. Besides this, G. orthogonon, G. paroecandrum, G. selbyi, G. schmitthenneri, Pythium kashmirense, P. aristosporum, and Phytopythium helicoides are new records for Pakistan. Globisporangium ultimum var. ultimum, Pythium dissotocum, P. catenulatum, P. acanthicum, P. oligandrum, Phytopythium sindhum, Ph. vexans, and Ph. litorale are new records for the province.

Keywords: molecular phylogeny – new records – new species – Pythium

9. A new species of Stephanonectria (Bionectriaceae) from southwestern China

Authors: He SC, Wei DP, Bhunjun CS, Zhao Q, Jayawardena RS

Recieved: 03 April 2023, Accepted: 30 May 2023, Published: 13 June 2023

A new species, Stephanonectria ellipsoidea, was isolated from decaying fruit in Kunming City, Yunnan Province, China. It is characterized by pale orange colonies, densely clustered, irregularly branched conidiophores, cylindrical phialides, and hyaline, ellipsoidal conidia. Its morphology fits well with the generic concept of Stephanonectria. This species is closely related to S. keithii based on phylogenetic analysis of concatenated LSU and ITS sequences. The combination of morphological observation and molecular data supports the erection of the new species.

Keywords: Asexual morph – Fruits – Hypocreales – New species

10. Effect of two root endophytes (Campylospora parvula and Tetracladium setigerum) on the growth of the wheat plant

Authors: Pant P, Sati SC.

Recieved: 16 February 2023, Accepted: 26 May 2023, Published: 14 June 2023

Endophytic aquatic hyphomycetes, Campylospora parvula and Tetracladium setigerum, recovered from the roots of riparian plants, Pilea scripta and Debregessia sp., respectively, were used to treat wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) through pot experiments for assessing their effect on the growth and development of the plant. Both endophytes were effective in enhancing the growth of the test plant significantly (p<0.01). The increment in plant growth was measured in terms of length (shoot and root), diameter (shoot and root), total fresh weight and total dry weight of test plants in comparison with the control plants. Both endophytes served as significantly affective (p<0.01) wheat growth promoters. The present findings strongly support the utilization of these endophytic fungi as plant growth promoters. In the future, these strains deserve to be used as bio-fertilizers to increase the yield of agricultural crops.

Keywords: Bio-fertilizer – plant growth promoter – pot experiment – root endophytes – wheat.

Recent Papers

Volume 6 - 2023 issue 2

3. Antioxidant activity and nutritional composition of different mushroom extracts grown on different bush encroachers as substrates in Namibia
Haukongo et al. (2023)

2. Efficacy of Botanical Mixture and Fungicides to Combat Sigatoka Disease in Banana Cultivation
Dissanayake et al. (2023)

1. Analyses of challenges faced during the production of amylolytic enzymes and bio-ethanol using left-over cooked-rice, and rice unfit for human consumption
Kumar R et al. (2023)