Fifteen fungicolous Ascomycetes on edible and medicinal mushrooms in China and Thailand

Edible and medicinal mushrooms are extensively cultivated and commercially consumed in many countries, especially in China and Thailand. A number of fungicolous fungi could cause deformation or decomposition of mushrooms. Investigation of taxonomic diversity and exact identification are initial and crucial steps to understand interactions between fungicolous taxa and their hosts as well as to propose better disease management strategies in the mushroom industry. In this study, during a survey of fungicolous fungi on eight edible and medicinal mushrooms from mushroom farms and from the wild in China and Thailand, 15 taxa were identified based on morphological characteristics and DNA sequence data analyses. Three new species, including Sporothrix ganoderma (Ophiostomatales) on cultivated Ganoderma lucidum in China; Hypomyces fistulina (Hypocreaceae) on Fistulina species in China; and Hypomyces boletus on Boletus species in Thailand are described and introduced here. Other species recovered from China include Aspergillus pseudoglaucus (Trichocomaceae) on a wild Helvella species; Fusarium sonali (Nectriaceae) on cultivated Morchella importuna; Clonostachys rosea f. catenulata (Bionectriaceae) and Paecilomyces hepiali (Cordycipitaceae) on cultivated Ophiocordyceps sinensis; Polycephalomyces sinensis (Ophiocordycipitaceae) on wild Ophiocordyceps sinensis; Lecanicillium fungicola var. aleophilum (Cordycipitaceae) and Hypomyces rosellus on cultivated Agaricus bisporus; Paecilomyces formosus (Trichocomaceae) on Fistulina; Hypomyces aurantius (Hypocreaceae) on Panellus species; Trichoderma atrobrunneum (Hypocreaceae) on cultivated Ganoderma lucidum. Hypomyces boletiphagus (Hypocreaceae) on Boletus sp. and Cladobotryum protrusum (Hypocreaceae) were recovered on a decayed mushroom from Thailand. This study enriches our current taxonomic knowledge on the diversity of fungicolous fungi in these regions. © 2019, MRF. All rights reserved.