New Report of Three Unrecorded Species in <i>Trichoderma harzianum</i> Species Complex in Korea

Abstract

The genus <i>Trichoderma</i> (Hypocreaceae, Ascomycota) consists of globally distributed fungi. Among them, <i>T. harzianum</i>, one of the most commonly collected <i>Trichoderma</i> species, had been known as a polyphyletic or aggregate species. However, a total of 19 species were determined from the polyphyletic groups of <i>T. harzianum</i>. Thus, we explored Korean "<i>T. harzianum</i>" specimens that were collected in 2013-2014. These specimens were re-examined based on a recent study with translate elongation factor 1-alpha (EF1α) sequences to reveal cryptic <i>Trichoderma</i> species in Korea. As a result, four different species, <i>T. afroharzianum, T. atrobruneum, T. pyramidale</i>, and <i>T. harzianum</i>, were identified. Except <i>T. harzianum</i>, the other three species have not been reported in Korea. In this work, we describe these species and provide figures.