Molecular and Morphological Characterization of Two Novel Species Collected from Soil in Korea

Two fungal species of ascomycetes were discovered during the screening of soil microflora from the Gangwon Province in Korea: Didymella chlamydospora sp. nov. (YW23-14) and Microdochium salmonicolor sp. nov. (NC14-294). Morphologically, YW23-14 produces smaller chlamydospores (8.0-17.0 x 7.0-15.0 mu m) than D. glomerata and D. musae. The strain NC14-294 was characterized by smaller conidiogenous cells (4.9-8.8 x 2.0-3.2 mu m) compared with the closest strains M. fisheri and M. phragmitis. The detailed descriptions, illustrations, and discussions regarding the morphological and phylogenetical analyses of the closely related species are provided to support the novelty of each species. Thus, YW23-14 and NC14-294 are described here as newly discovered species.