Two Chinese new records of the genus Trichoderma in the Stromaticum clade

Abstract:

[Background] The Stromaticum clade of Trichoderma was defined by Samuels et al. in 2012, including 9 species. However, only 3 species, i.e. T. stromaticum, T. vermipilum and T. floccosum were reported in China. [Objective] Two Trichoderma species, i.e. T. ivoriense and T. barbatum, are newly recorded in China. [Methods] They were collected from Beijing and Shandong by the selective medium THSM, and identified by the translation elongation factor 1 alpha (TEF1-α), RNA polymeraseⅡsubunit 2 (RPB2) and observation of morphological characteristics. [Results] By phylogenetic analyses of TEF1-α and RPB2, two Trichoderma strains were close to T. ivoriense and T. barbatum respectively; however, morphologically they are markedly different from typical species of T. ivoriense or T. barbatum. Therefore these two strains were identified as T. ivoriense and T. barbatum, or relative species of them. [Conclusion] Two species of the genus Trichoderma were newly discovered in China and were described, they belong to the Stromaticum clade. The numbers of species in that clade add up to five.