Trichoderma kunmingense Z.F.Yu & J.Y.Li

Qiao, Min, Du, Xing, Zhang, Zhe, Xu, JianPing & Yu, ZeFen, 2018, Three new species of soil-inhabiting Trichoderma from southwest China, MycoKeys 44, pp. 63-80 : 63

Trichoderma kunmingense Z.F.Yu & J.Y.Li sp. nov. Figure 3

Etymology.

Latin, kunmingense , refers to the site in which this species was found.

Diagnosis.

Characterised by pyramidal fashion conidiophores, ampulliform to tapered phialides (6.0-9.0 × 2.5-4.5 µm), discrete branches and ovoid, occasionally ellipsoid, smooth-walled conidia (3.4-4.4 × 2.7-3.4 µm). Differs from T. asperellum by slightly shorter and sometimes more whorled phialides, mostly obovoid conidia. Differs from T. yunnanense by sparser branches and more whorled, smaller phialides and conidia.

Type.

CHINA. Kunming, Yunnan, 24°52'28"N, 102°49'34"E. 1929 m alt, in soil, Aug 2007, Y. Zhang (YMF 1.02659, holotype), Ex-type culture CBS 125635.

Description.

Colony on CMD after 72 h radius 35-50 mm, mycelium covering the plate after 96 h at 25 °C, 55-59 mm at 30 °C and 41-46 mm at 35 °C after 72 h. Colony hyaline, margin distinctly noted. Aerial hyphae are indistinctly observed, radiate and sparse, white pustule formed from inner zone, asymmetrical to pulvinate, loosely arranged. Conidial production noted after 48 h. No diffusing pigment produced.

Mycelium covers plate after 72 h at 25 °C and 35 °C on PDA and radius 52-56 mm at 30 °C. Colony layered distinctly, margin conspicuous and radial. Aerial hyphae, hairy to floccose, dense internal zone, but relative sparse on margin, abundantly and flat in a large green disc around the inoculums, turning green after 24 h of conidiation.

Colony on SNA after 72 h radius 48-50 mm, mycelium covering the plate after 96 h at 25 °C, 53-56 mm at 35 °C and covering the plate at 30 °C after 72 h. Colony and pustules are similar to that on CMD, colony hyaline and smooth, the shape of pustules more regular, sometimes hemispherical, loosely distributed around the point of inoculation. Conidiophores well defined, branching 2-3 times in a pyramidal fashion, with the longest branches verticillate on the discrete main axis, the base 2.2 –3.9(– 4.4) μm wide, branched toward the tip, the distance between neighbouring second branches are 11.0-38.5 μm. Phialides arising generally 1-3 times repetition on each branches or in whorls of 3-5, ampulliform to tapered, slightly constricted at the base, often straight or less sinuous or curved toward apex of conidiophore, mostly (5.0-) 6.0 –9.0(– 10.0) × 2.5-4.5 µm, length/width ratio (1.3 –)1.4–3.4(– 3.6). Conidia obovoid, sometimes ellipsoidal, smooth-walled, both ends broadly rounded or at the base slightly narrower, 3.4-4.4 × 2.7-3.4 µm, length/width ratio (1.1 –)1.2– 1.6, pale green when viewed singly, usually greenish in mass.

Specimen examined. PR China, Kunming, Yunnan Province, 24°52'N, 102°49'E, elev. 1929 m, isolated from soil samples, Aug. 2007, by Y. Zhang (Holotype, YMF 1.02659; ex-type culture, YMF 1.026591, CBS 125635).

Habitat and distribution.

In garden soil of Kunming city of southwest China.

Teleomorph.

Not known

Remarks.

Trichoderma kunmingense can be distinguished from T. asperellum Samuels, Lieckfeldt and Nirenberg, by having more crowded branches and phialides. T. asperellum typically forms whorls of 2-4 phialides, whereas phialides of T. kunmingense sometimes attain 5 phialides. Although the phialides are ampulliform in both species, the phialides of T. asperellum are slightly longer (type strain: 7.2-11.5 µm) than those of T. kunmingense . Moreover, conidia of T. asperellum have inconspicuous and small ornamentation, but those of T. kunmingense are smooth and conidia are slightly longer (type strain: 3.5-4.5 × 2.7-4.0 µm) ( Samuels et al. 1999, Samuels and Ismaiel 2010).

Trichoderma kunmingense and T. yunnanense Yu and Zhang are also closely related in the phylogenetic tree, but branches and phialides of T. yunnanense are more crowded than those of T. kunmingense . Phialides in T. yunnanense arising separately or more often paired with branches, rarely in whorls of 3 ( Yu et al. 2007). Conidia of T. yunnanense (4.0-5.0 ×3.5– 4.0 µm) are also larger than those of T. kunmingense .