Lentinus squarrosulus is a wild edible mushroom utilized globally not only for its nutritional values but also for its medicinal and mycoremediation potentials. Domestication of this mushroom will make available mother culture and spawn for research and propagation, and ensure year-round availability for economic and sustainable development. Tissue culture was prepared and actively growing mycelia were inoculated onto grain spawn. Cultivation trials were conducted using sawdust from various wood species, including Treculia africana (African breadfruit), Mangifera indica (Mango), Dacryodes edulis (African pear), and mixed sawdust from various wood species. Substrates were composted, sterilized, inoculated with the spawn of L. squarrosulus and incubated. Growth was monitored, recorded and fruiting bodies harvested. Results of domestication revealed that mother culture was produced in 5 - 7 days spawned in 14 days and was available for research, and cultivation. L. squarrosulus mycelia colonized all the substrates used to varied degrees with the mycelial running time ranging from 30.4 days to 34.8 days. Mycelia running time on T. africana differed significantly from D. edulis. Fruiting bodies were successfully harvested from 38 to 68 days with the maximum number of fruiting bodies (40 ± 9.47) and highest yield of 89.03 ± 29.41 g obtained from T. africana in three flushes. This was followed by M. indica (35, 54.27 ± 14.64 g). Dacryodes edulis sawdust recorded the lowest yield (23, 32.31 ± 11.34 g). M. indica sawdust had the broadest pileus diameter (6.45 ± 1.97 cm) and longest stipe (2.83 ± 0.49 cm). In conclusion, L. squarrosulus has the potential to be domesticated in Orlu, Imo State, with T. africana sawdust as a suitable substrate for cultivation.

During diversity studies of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in the coastal sand dunes of southern Veracruz and tropical semi-evergreen forests of Quintana Roo and Campeche, we detected new geographic records of three ornamented species in Mexico. Acaulospora tuberculata and Racocetra crispa were recorded in coastal sand dunes, an underexplored ecosystem from southern Veracruz. Glomus crenatum was isolated from the tropical semi-evergreen forests of Campeche and Quintana Roo. Both G. crenatum and R. crispa represent their second global records. The three ornamented species are described and illustrated, and we generated an emendation to the original description of G. crenatum to present an accurate spore wall morphology. The new records increase the known richness in Mexico to 167 spp., representing 46.5% of that reported worldwide.

In the present study, we observed the potential of our earlier isolated endophytic fungi viz., Nigrospora oryzae strain SUBL33, Alternaria alternata strain SUBL51 and Aspergillus terreus strain SUBL206 for the production of seven industrially and pharmaceutically important phenolic compounds named gallic acid, p-coumaric, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, quercetin and kaempferol. The high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods were used for the simultaneous determination of the aforementioned phenolic compounds in fungal crude extracts (FCEs). The percent amount of these aforesaid phenolic compounds in FCEs were found in significant amount. In conclusion, this study shows that we can simultaneously produce large amounts of phenolic compounds with pharmaceutical and industrial potential from a single microorganism in a short frame of time, which will lessen our reliance on other sources like plants and consequently reduce their overdepletion in an economical and environmentally friendly way.

Effector proteins play a crucial role in the interactions between rust fungal pathogens and their wheat hosts. The availability of high-throughput "omics" data has been a game-changer for the field, allowing for the identification and comparison of effectors across various rust species and strains. This study employed high-throughput "omics" data to explore the shared effector aspects of multiple rust fungi, including three wheat rust species, Puccinia triticina, Puccinia striiformis, and Puccinia graminis, as well as Puccinia sorghi (corn rust) and Melampsora larici-populina (poplar rust). The study employed a comprehensive bioinformatics pipeline to predict candidate secreted effector proteins (CSEPs) for each rust species, assess their subcellular localization, cluster similar effectors based on their sequence similarity, and screen their expression profiles to evaluate potential roles in pathogenesis. The study revealed diverse effectors that constitute approximately 4% of each species' proteome, with localization predictions indicating diverse targeting within host cells. Clustering of effector sequences resulted in the identification of 1,027 effector tribes and 2,186 singlets, with P. graminis exhibiting the highest number of singlets, suggesting accelerated evolution and adaptation to evade host defense. Conservation analysis revealed that 30 common tribes were shared among the three wheat rust species, with many also found between P. triticina and P. graminis. Expression profiling revealed differential expression during early infection, suggesting roles in pathogenesis. This study highlights the molecular diversity and adaptive strategies of rust fungi, offering insights for disease management.

This manuscript represents the first contribution to the CREAM notes series, including detailed descriptions and illustrations of 30 taxa distributed across two phyla (Ascomycota and Basidiomycota), including three classes (Agaricomycetes, Dothideomycetes, and Sordariomycetes), 11 orders, and 23 families. Taxa in this study were collected randomly from Asian regions, including China (East Asia), India (South Asia), and Thailand (Southeast Asia), which are known for their notably rich fungal diversity. Here in a novel species, Poaceascoma chiangraiense is introduced, along with 18 new host records (Acrocalymma hongheense, Aplosporella hesperidica, Diatrypella delonicis, Dictyoarthrinium sacchari, Dictyocheirospora heptaspora, Fissuroma caryotae, Halobyssothecium unicellulare, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, Melomastia fusispora, Neoangustimassarina sichuanensis, Nigrograna kunmingensis, Periconia byssoides, Pestalotiopsis kandelicola, Phaeoisaria sedimenticola, Plenodomus collinsoniae, Rhytidhysteron rufulum, Current Research in Environmental & Applied Mycology (Journal of Fungal Biology) 14(1): 167–266 (2024) ISSN 2229-2225 www.creamjournal.org Article Doi 10.5943/cream/14/1/11 168 Spegazzinia neosundara, and Torula fici), four new geographical records (Cancellidium griseonigrum, Diaporthe angustiapiculata, Hongkongmyces kokensis, and Lactarius purpureocastaneus), four new host and geographical records (Ectophoma pomi, Lasiodiplodia crassispora, Memnoniella echinata, and Pestalotiopsis smilacicola), two new regional records (Lactarius flavigalactus and L. lachungensis), and one new provincial record (Allocryptovalsa rabenhorstii). The "CREAM Notes" series aims to continuously document and describe global fungal species by providing molecular data for both newly discovered and existing fungal species. This initiative will help to provide a comprehensive understanding of fungal taxonomy, host relationships, and distribution patterns worldwide.

Pseudoplectania comprises 13 species and is characterized by dark apothecia with external hairs, hymenial hairs, spherical ascospores and the presence or absence of yellow crystals. This study introduces a new species, P. globospora, into this genus based on combined morphology and phylogeny. This species features dark and discoid apothecia with two types of external hairs, yellowish to brownish hymenial hairs, straight or bifurcate paraphyses, and spherical ascospores. The combined ITS and LSU analysis separated the newly-established species that was sister to P. affinis and differed from all other Pseudoplectania species.

A new taxon in the genus Immersaria was discovered during a lichen survey in Darel Valley and Killa Saifullah, Pakistan and it was determined to be I. pruinosa sp. nov. The main characteristics of I. pruinosa sp. nov. are flat to slightly concave, blackish brown, up to 1 mm apothecia, taller hymenium 80– 140 µm, apically branched paraphyses, smaller 10–20 µm epihymenium, smaller ascospores 5–7 × 2–4 µm, unknown secondary metabolite and growing on calcareous rocks. Based on morpho-anatomical characterization and multigene (nrITS, mtSSU & nrLSU) phylogenetic data, the new species is described and illustrated below.

This study reports both the introduction of a new record and additional cultivation results for mushrooms of Auricularia. We have collected and established a new record of the strain MFLU24-0195 from the province of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Characterisation of this strain was based on morphological characters and DNA sequence data. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the new strain clustered with Auricularia fibrillfera with a strong bootstrap, indicating the need for a new record to be introduced. For cultivation, two different Auricularia cornea strains and one strain of A. fibrillfera were tested on different agricultural substrates. The results showed that both A. cornea and A. fibrillfera grew well in sawdust + corn cob (A. cornea strain 1 (MFLUCC18-0346):290.87±17.62, A cornea strain 2 (MFLUCC18-0347): 280±16.54, and A. fibrillfera strain (MFLUCC24-0224): 265.97±17.45 g respectively). The first primordia were observed at 14±3.05, 15±3.21, and 15± 3.45 days, respectively. Our results therefore indicate that corn cobs can be considered for the cultivation of Auricularia.

The endophytic lifestyle, characterized by a symbiotic relationship between fungi and their host plants, is pervasive throughout the fungal kingdom. However, the question of whether all fungi have ancestors with endophytic lifestyles remains a topic of ongoing debate. This review paper aims to explore this question by examining the evolutionary history of endophytism in fungi, the diversity of endophytic fungi, and the ecological and host-specific factors that have influenced the evolution and diversification of endophytic lifestyles. While it is clear that not all fungi descend from endophytic ancestors, the prevalence and diversity of endophytism across the fungal phylogeny suggest that this lifestyle has evolved multiple times in response to various ecological and host-specific pressures. Future research, integrating modern genomic tools and experimental approaches, will likely shed more light on the complex evolutionary trajectories of endophytic fungi, and potentially contribute to applications in agriculture, industry, and medicine.