Skip to main content

Talaromyces disparis, Talaromyces funiformis and Talaromyces jianfengicus from soil established in sect. Tal.

Talaromyces disparis, Talaromyces funiformis and Talaromyces jianfengicus from soil established in sect. Tal.

NEWS - Talaromyces disparis (ex-type AS3.26221), Talaromyces funiformis (ex-type AS3.26220) and Talaromyces jianfengicus (ex-type AS3.26253) isolated from soil were established as three new species in sect. Talaromyces based on morphological characters and phylogenetic analysis of BenA, CaM, Rpb2 and ITS sequences.

Talaromyces species play important roles in nutrient cycling in natural ecosystems, plant biomass degradation in industry and implications in medicine. However, the diversity of this genus is far from being fully understood. The genus is currently divided into 8 sections (Bacillispori, Helici, Islandici, Purpurei, Subinflati, Talaromyces, Tenues and Trachyspermi).

In a survey of Talaromyces in China, researchers found five typical Talaromyces strains and proposed three new species represented by these strains included in sect. Talaromyces, which now includes about 90 species, is the largest section within Talaromyces and generally grows rapidly to clumps with a diameter of more than 30 mm on MEA.

The species in this section are usually phylogenetically distant, but some closely related taxa form species complexes and members of these species complexes are not easily distinguished from each other using morphology, especially micromorphology.

The researchers used a polyphasic taxonomy that combines morphological and phylogenetic characters to establish a new species based on a single strain, because this species is phylogenetically unique and morphologically clearly distinguishable from other species. The proposed three species were also confirmed by phylogenetic analysis of the BenA-CaM-Rpb2, BenA-CaM-ITS concatenations and the BenA, CaM, Rpb2, and ITS sequence matrices individually.

T. disparis is nicknamed on penicillins in various patterns and conidia of various shapes and dimensions. The taxon is characterized by low growth, velvety texture and limited to moderate sporulation. Penicillates are biverticulate, monoverticulate, irregular and have polymorphic smooth-walled conidia with some abnormally large round conidia.

T. disparis is a unique species with no close relatives in Talaromyces based on phylogenetic analysis and no bootstrap support provided, although it is in a clade with T. intermedius, T. viridis and T. panamensis in the BenA-CaM-Rpb2 phylogram

T. funiformis is named for its funiculose appearance on CYA, MEA and YES. This taxon is included in the T. pinophilus complex. The species produces mycelial funicules on CYA, MEA and YES. Sporulation is rare on Cz, CYA, MEA and YES but abundant on OA. Growth rate is low at 37°C. Penicillates are biverticulate and conida are round to pyriform with smooth to rough walls.

T. jianfengicus is given its specific epithet in reference to the location where the ex-type strain was isolated. This species belongs to the T. verruculosus complex which includes T. johnpittii, T. stellenboschiensis, T. yunnanensis, and T. verruculosus. These members generally grow moderately to rapidly on MEA, YES, and OA.

T. jianfengicus is characterized by velvety colony texture with moderately to abundant elm green conidia and green-yellow mycelium, biverticulate penicillata, ampulliform phialids, and spherical conidia with verrucous walls.

Original research

Ren X, Li S, Ruan Y, Wang L. 2024. Three new species of Talaromyces sect. Talaromyces discovered in China. PeerJ 12:e18253, DOI:10.7717/peerj.18253

Dlium theDlium

Popular Posts

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Pink trumpet tree (Tabebuia heterophylla)

Pink trumpet tree ( Tabebuia heterophylla ) is a species of plant in the Bignoniaceae family, growing 6–9 meters tall with a cylindrical trunk and brown bark that is often linearly fissured. The leaves are opposite, compound, with five or fewer minor leaflets. T. heterophylla has striking bright red flowers, tubular, five-lobed, and 5–7.5 cm long. The fruit is a cylindrical pod, up to 20 cm long and up to 1 cm wide. The pod stalk is up to 3 cm long. The pod splits along two lines to release numerous thin, light brown seeds, 0.5–2.5 cm long with two white wings. This species is often used as a street tree and shade tree for residential properties. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Bignoniaceae Genus: Tabebuia Species: Tabebuia heterophylla

Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar (Amanita javanica)

OPINION - Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar ( Amanita javanica ) is a mysterious fungus species and has been enigmatic since it was first reported by Boedijn in 1951 and after that no explanation or reporting of specimens is believed to be the same as expected. Boedijn (1951) described A. javanica which grew on Java island as having the characteristics covered in the Amanita genus. Corner and Bas in 1962 tried to describe Javan mocca and all species in Amanita based on specimens in Singapore. Over time some reports say that they have found A. javanica specimens in other Southeast Asia including also China, Japan, India and Nepal. But there is no definitive knowledge and many doubt whether the specimen is the same as described by Boedijn (1951). I was fortunate to have seen this species one afternoon and soon I took out a camera for some shots. In fact, I've only met this mushroom species once. Javan mocca is an endangered species and I have never seen in my experience in...