Two new Penicillium section Sclerotiorum species from sugarcane soil in Brazil

Abstract

Two new species were isolated during a survey on the mycobiota of soil of sugarcane fields in a deforested area of Atlantic Forest in Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. Using a polyphasic approach, combining ITS, partial β-tubulin, calmodulin, and RPB2 gene sequences and morphological features, we described the new species Penicillium barbosae sp. nov. (URM 7705T) and Penicillium limae sp. nov. (URM 7706T), both belonging to section Sclerotiorum, series Adametziorum. Descriptions based on morphological features are provided and these data show that the species differ from their phylogenetically closely related relatives. Both new species produce monoverticillate conidiophores and globose to subglobose shaped conidia. Penicillium barbosae is phylogenetically related to P. bilaiae; however, P. barbosae attains a colony diameter of 37–38 mm at 25 °C on Czapek yeast extract agar (CYA), is unable to grow at 30 and 37 °C, and produces sclerotia on oatmeal agar. In contrast, the colony diameter of P. bilaiae on CYA at 25 °C is 25–33 mm and is able to grow at 30 °C and 37 °C, and sclerotia production is not reported. Penicillium limae is related to P. restingae. The former species does not grow at 37 °C, in contrast to the latter. Furthermore, P. limae grows faster on CYA (22–32 mm vs 18–27 mm), malt extract agar (23–32 vs 16–23 mm), and dichloran 18% glycerol agar (35–40 vs 9–16 mm). The description of these new species increases our knowledge on Penicillium biodiversity in tropical agricultural soils.