Penicillium echinulonalgiovense S. Abe ex Houbraken & R.N. Barbosa Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 111: 1895. 2018.

Index Fungorum number: IF 822213; Mycobank number: MB 822213; Facesoffungi number: FoF 16045 Fig. 1

Holotype – CBS H-23172

Saprobic on the soil. Sexual morph: Not observed. Asexual morph: Conidiophores predominantly biverticillate, rarely with monoverticillate; Stipes long, smooth-walled, 60–200×2.5–3.0 µm; Metulae 2–3, divergent, 11–17×2.4–3.0 μm; Phialides ampulliform, 3–6 per metulae, 7–11×2.5–3.0 µm; Conidia spheroidal to subspheroidal, smooth ornamentation, 2.5−3.5×2.5−3.5.

Culture characteristics – Colonies growing after 7 days at 25±2 °C on following agar media: CYA colonies mediumgrowing, radially sulcate, velutinous, mycelia dense white (1A1); 14–15 mm in diam.; margins regular; no sporulation; exudate absent; soluble pigment absent; reverse orange, white (5A2) entire. MEA colonies medium-growing, velutinous, floccose, mycelia white (1A1), 15–16 mm in diam.; margins regular; sporulation dense, pale yellow (4A3); exudates absent; soluble pigments absent; reverse deep yellow (4A8) at centre, maize yellow (4A6) towards periphery. CYAS colonies medium-growing, velutinous, mycelia white (1A1) entire, 20–22 mm in diam.; margin regular; no sporulation; exudates absent; soluble pigments absent; reverse light yellow (4A4) at centre, yellowish white (4A2) towards periphery. OA colonies fast-growing, velutinous, raised; mycelia white (1A1), 45–50 mm in diam.; margin irregular; sporulation dense, grey (1D1); exudates absent; soluble pigments absent; reverse white (1A1) entire. CZ colonies medium-growing, mycelial, yellowish white (1A1) entire, 24–25 mm in diam.; margin regular; exudates absent; soluble pigments absent; reverse yellowish white (1A1) entire. DG18 no growth. YES colonies fast-growing, velutinous, radially sulcate, mycelia white (1A1); 46–49 mm diam.; margin regular, raised; sporulation light yellow (4A5); exudates absent; soluble pigments absent; reverse light yellow (4A4) entire CREA colonies medium-growing, velutinous, mycelia white (1A1) entire, 23–21 mm in diam.; margin irregular; reverse white (1A1) entire; acid production absent.

Material examined – India, Kerala, Ernakulam (9° 58′ 48″ N, 76° 17′ 16″ E), an endophyte from Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal (Solanaceae), 27 July 2021, Sherin Varghese and Rajeshkumar K.C., living culture NFCCI RKC SVWS4.

Hosts and distribution – Brazil, Malaysia and Nigeria (Barbosa et al. 2018; Freire et al. 2020; Houbraken et al. 2020).

GenBank numbers – NFCCI RKC SVWS4: ITS=OP942450, BenA=OP961926, CaM=OP961927.

Notes – Based on a concatenated phylogenetic analysis of the ITS, BenA, CaM, and rpb2 gene regions, of the isolated endophytic fungal strain, P. echinulonalgiovense (NFCCI RKC SVWS4) aligns with the type stain of P. echinulonalgiovense (CBS H-23172). The isolated strain is well placed in the phylogenetic circumscription of series Simplicissima under section Lanata-Divaricata. Morphologically, P. echinulonalgiovense (NFCCI RKC SVWS4) share the same characteristics as the type strain of P. echinulonalgiovense such as biverticillate penicilli, having ampulliform phialides and conidia echinulate, globose to subglobose. Further, both the colonies show floccose texture with radial sulcations, and absence of exudates on CYA media. Hence, the macromorphological and micromorphological characteristics of the isolated species match with the type species, P. echinulonalgiovense (CBS H-23172). However, Penicillium echinulonalgiovense has not been reported from India and this is the first report.

Figure 1 – Penicillium echinulonalgiovense (NFCCI RKC SVWS4). a, b Colonies after 7d at 25±2 ºC on CYA and MEA obverse and reverse. c CREA obverse. d CYAS obverse. e CZA obverse. f DG18 obverse. g OA (natural) obverse. h YES obverse. i–j terverticillate conidiophore. k Conidia. Scale bar: i–k=10 μm