Trichoderma aggressivum sp. nov. and T. aggressivum f. europaeum f. nov. are described. These forms cause the green mold epidemic in commercially grown Agaricus bisporus in North America and Europe, respectively. In the literature they have been reported as T. harzianum biotypes Th 4 and Th 2, respectively. They are strongly separated from their closest relative, T. harzianum, in sequences of the ITS-1 region of nuclear rDNA and an approximately 689 bp fragment of the protein coding translation elongation factor gene (EF-1α). They are distinguished from the morphologically similar T. harzianum and T. atroviride (the latter also known as biotype Th 3) most readily by rate of growth. Of these, only T. harzianum grows well and sporulates at 35 C, while T. atroviride is the slowest growing. Trichoderma aggressivum f. aggressivum and f. europaeum are effectively indistinguishable morphologically although they have subtly different growth rates at 25 C on SNA and statistically significant micromorphological differences. Based on findings of this study, descriptions of T. harzianum and T. atroviride are expanded. A key to Trichoderma species commonly found associated with commercially grown A. bisporus is provided.

Trichoderma species associated with the green mold epidemic of commercially grown Agaricus bisporus.

http://micologia.biologia.ucr.ac.cr/PDFs/T_harzianum_complex.pdf

Multilocus phylogenetic structure within the Trichoderma harzianum/Hypocrea lixii complex

A new species, Hypocrea atroviridis, is described for the teleomorph of Trichoderma atroviride. Based on sequences of ITS-1, 5.8S, and ITS-2 regions of the rDNA complex and translation-elongation factor (EF-1α), T. atroviride and H. atroviridis form a well-supported clade within Trichoderma sect. Trichoderma. The conserved anamorphic phenotype of T. atroviride, observed for both conidial and ascospore derived cultures, was only found within that clade. In contrast, the teleomorph phenotype of H. atroviridis was morphologically indistinguishable from H. rufa, the teleomorph of T. viride. This Hypocrea phenotype may, therefore, be considered to be plesiomorphic within Trichoderma sect. Trichoderma, suggesting that genes controlling the expression of the teleomorph and anamorph evolve at different rates and that the genes controlling expression of the teleomorph are more conserved than are those controlling the expression of the anamorph.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/info/3761959

Hypocrea atroviridis sp. nov., the teleomorph of Trichoderma atroviride

A polymerase chain reaction-amplified DNA containing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-1, 5.8S, and ITS-2 regions of the nuclear ribosomal DNA transcriptional unit was sequenced for 81 isolates of Trichoderma spp. associated with mushroom culture or used for biological control of plant pathogens. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the biocontrol isolates were more closely related to an isolate of T. harzianum biotype 1 (Th1) than to the aggressive biotypes 2 and 4. Th1 has been isolated from mushroom compost but is not the cause of widespread green mold epidemics that have occurred during the last 12 years in Europe and North America. Three isolates of T. harzianum obtained from shiitake (Lentinula edodes; Shi1B and S3-96) and maitake (Grifola frondosa; Mai1) substrates were placed within the biocontrol group. We also found evidence suggesting that some isolates of T. harzianum originally identified as Th4 from Pennsylvania are more closely related to Th2 from Europe. Finally, considering the wide range in sequence distribution of our samples, we propose that the consensus sequence found in this investigation be used as the reference sequence for further studies involving the identification and taxonomy of T. harzianum.

/pdf/molecular-phylogenetic-analyses-of-biological-control-4tm6ymbyko.pdf

Molecular Phylogenetic Analyses of Biological Control Strains of Trichoderma harzianum and Other Biotypes of Trichoderma spp. Associated with Mushroom Green Mold.

Trichoderma harzianum is neotypified by an isolate from the type locality, and this neotype is fully described. It is compared with original herbarium specimens and recent isolates of T. at...

What exactly is Trichoderma harzianum

A major epidemic of green mould in mushroom compost in Northern Ireland lasting for 6 months was caused by a single taxon of Trichoderma harzianum (Th2). This has continued to be the principal taxon causing losses in Ireland over a 9-year period. A separate taxon, Th4, is responsible for a more recent epidemic in North America. Cultural methods are described which aid rapid differentiation of four distinct taxa of T. harzianum and five other species from the mushroom environment. After developing a standard cultural method, isolates were grouped visually by features such as growth rate at 27°C, amount of aerial mycelium, and the effect of light on sporulation form and timing. Most of these groups of isolates had significantly different growth rate ratios from each other at 27°C/17°C. Furthermore isolates within groups which had been separated by culture features alone were closely homologous as regards their microscopic morphological features such as phialides and phialospores. Two factors underlining the importance of using a standard cultural method in aiding identification were that culture morphology was shown to vary widely on different media and spore size was found to vary significantly with incubation temperature. Some difficulties are discussed concerning differentiation of Trichoderma spp. using classical microscopic features alone.

D. A. Seaby

Papers

Differentiation of Trichoderma taxa associated with mushroom production