Molecular insights into fungal diversity reveal three novel species of Leucocoprinus from southern Punjab, Pakistan.

Three novel species of the genus Leucocoprinus, named Lc. cinnamomeodiscus, Lc. dahranwalanus, and Lc. iqbalii, are described from unexplored regions of southern Punjab, Pakistan, based on comprehensive analyses of morphoanatomical characteristics and molecular phylogenetic data. We provide illustrations of freshly collected basidiomata and detailed line drawings highlighting key anatomical features. The molecular phylogenetic analyses, which are based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and combined ITS-28S sequences, consistently position these newly described species within the genus Leucocoprinus. Additionally, this study also introduces new taxonomic combinations for previously reported Leucoagaricus species.

A new brown rot disease of plum caused by Mucor xinjiangensis sp. nov. and screening of its chemical control.

A novel species of Mucor was identified as the causal agent of a brown rot of Prunus domestica (European plum), widely grown in the south of Xinjiang, China. This disease first appears as red spots after the onset of the fruits. With favorable environmental conditions, fruit with infected spots turn brown, sag, expand, wrinkle, and harden, resulting in fruit falling. Fungal species were isolated from infected fruits. A phylogenetic analysis based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions and the large subunit (LSU) of the nuclear ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene regions strongly supported that these isolates made a distinct evolutionary lineage in Mucor (Mucoromycetes, Mucoraceae) that represents a new taxonomic species, herein named as Mucor xinjiangensis. Microscopic characters confirmed that these strains were morphologically distinct from known Mucor species. The pathogenicity of M. xinjiangensis was confirmed by attaching an agar disk containing mycelium on fruits and re-isolation of the pathogen from symptomatic tissues. Later, fourteen fungicides were selected to determine the inhibitory effect on the pathogen. Further, results showed that difenoconazole had the best effect on the pathogen and the strongest toxicity with the smallest half maximal effective concentration (EC50) value, followed by a compound fungicide composed of difenoconazole with azoxystrobin, mancozeb, prochloraz with iprodione, pyraclostrobin with tebuconazole, and trifloxystrobin with tebuconazole and ethhylicin. Present study provides the basis for the prevention and control of the novel plum disease and its pathogen.

Bio-formulated chitosan nanoparticles enhance disease resistance against rice blast by physiomorphic, transcriptional, and microbiome modulation of rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Rice blast disease (RBD) caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, threaten food security by cutting agricultural output. Nano agrochemicals are now perceived as sustainable, cost-effective alternatives to traditional pesticides. This study investigated bioformulation of moringa chitosan nanoparticles (M-CsNPs) and their mechanisms for suppressing RBD while minimizing toxic effects on the microenvironment. M-CsNPs, sized 46 nm with semi-spherical morphology, significantly suppressed pathogen growth, integrity, and colonization at 200 mg L-1in vitro. Greenhouse tests with foliar exposure to the same concentration resulted in a substantial 77.7 % reduction in RBD, enhancing antioxidant enzyme activity and plant health. Furthermore, M-CsNPs improved photosynthesis, gas exchange, and the nutritional profile of diseased rice plants. RNA-seq analysis highlighted upregulated defense-related genes in treated rice plants. Metagenomic study showcased reshaping of the rice microbiome, reducing Magnaporthe abundance by 93.5 %. Both healthy and diseased rice plants showed increased microbial diversity, particularly favoring specific beneficial species Thiobacillus, Nitrospira, Nocardioides, and Sphingomicrobium in the rhizosphere and Azonexus, Agarivorans, and Bradyrhizobium in the phyllosphere. This comprehensive study unravels the diverse mechanisms by which M-CsNPs interact with plants and pathogens, curbing M. oryzae damage, promoting plant growth, and modulating the rice microbiome. It underscores the significant potential for effective plant disease management.

Integrating nanotechnology with plant microbiome for next-generation crop health.

Nanotechnology has enormous potential for sustainable agriculture, such as improving nutrient use efficiency, plant health, and food production. Nanoscale modulation of the plant-associated microbiota offers an additional valuable opportunity to increase global crop production and ensure future food and nutrient security. Nanomaterials (NMs) applied to agricultural crops can impact plant and soil microbiota, which offers valuable services to host plants, including the acquisition of nutrients, abiotic stress tolerance, and disease suppression. Dissecting the complex interactions between NMs and plants by integrating multi-omic approaches is providing new insights into how NMs can activate host responses and functionality as well as influence native microbial communities. Such nexus and moving beyond descriptive microbiome studies to hypothesis-driven research will foster microbiome engineering and open up opportunities for the development of synthetic microbial communities to provide agronomic solutions. Herein, we first summarize the significant role of NMs and the plant microbiome in crop productivity and then focus on NMs effects on plant-associated microbiota. We outline three urgent priority research areas and call for a transdisciplinary collaborative approach, involving plant scientists, soil scientists, environmental scientists, ecologists, microbiologists, taxonomists, chemists, physicists, and stakeholders, to advance nano-microbiome research. Detailed understanding of the nanomaterial-plant-microbiome interactions and the mechanisms underlying NMs-mediated shifts in the microbiome assembly and functions may help to exploit the services of both nano-objects and microbiota for next-generation crop health.

Application of culturomics in fungal isolation from mangrove sediments.

BACKGROUND: Fungi play a crucial role in ecosystems, and they have been widely considered a promising source for natural compounds that are crucial for drug discovery. Fungi have a high diversity, but about 95% of them remain unknown to science. The description rate of fungi is very low, mainly due to the inability of most fungi to grow in artificial media, which could not provide a sufficiently similar environment to their natural habitats. Moreover, many species in nature are in a state of low metabolic activity which cannot readily proliferate without proper resuscitation. Previously developed culturomics techniques are mostly designed and applicable for bacteria, with few attempts for fungal isolation because of their significantly larger cell size and hyphal growth properties. RESULTS: This study attempted to isolate previously uncultured and rare fungi from mangrove sediments using newly developed fungal enrichment culture method (FECM) and fungal isolation chips (FiChips). Comparison of fungal community composition at different enrichment stages showed that FECM had great influence on fungal community composition, with rare taxa increased significantly, thus improving the isolation efficiency of previously uncultured fungi. Similarly, in situ cultivation using FiChips has a significant advantage in detecting and culturing rare fungi, as compared to the conventional dilution plate method (DPM). In addition, based on morphological comparisons and phylogenetic analyses, we described and proposed 38 new ascomycetous taxa, including three new families, eight new genera, 25 new species, and two new combinations (presented in additional file 1). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that mangrove sediments harbor a high diversity of fungi, and our new isolation approaches (FECM and FiChips) presented a high efficiency in isolating hitherto uncultured fungi, which is potentially usable for fungal isolation in other similar environments. Video Abstract.

Biosynthesized silver nanoparticles enhanced wheat resistance to Bipolaris sorokiniana.

Agronomic crops can benefit from the application of nanoscale materials in order to control phytopathogens and improve plant growth. Bipolaris sorokiniana, a soil- and seed-borne fungus, causes severe yield losses in wheat. In order to determine the physio-chemical changes in wheat under biotic stress of B. sorokiniana, the current study aimed to synthesis silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using Allium sativum bulb extract. Herein, we applied the silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as a foliar spray on two wheat varieties (Pakistan-2013, and NARC-2011) at the concentrations of 10, 20, 30, and 40 mg/L to suppress B. sorokiniana. Among all the applied concentrations of AgNPs, the 40 mg/L concentration demonstrated the most effective outcome in reduction of the intensity of spot blotch and improved the morphological, physiological, biochemical parameters, as well as antioxidant activity in wheat plant. Foliar application of AgNPs at 40 mg/L Pakistan-2013 and NARC-2011 wheat varieties significantly increased chlorophyll a 84.8% and 53.4%, chlorophyll b 28.9% and 84.3%, total chlorophyll content 294.3% and 241.2%, membrane stability index 7.5% and 6.1%, relative water contents 25.4% and 10.5%, proline content 320.5% and 609.9%, and soluble sugar content 120% and 259.4%, respectively, compared to control and diseased plant. This is the first study provides important insights into the role of phyto-mediated AgNPs in increasing resistant of wheat infected with B. sorokiniana. These findings offers valuable new insights that may be useful for reducing disease incidence in wheat fields.

Intercropping Walnut and Tea: Effects on Soil Nutrients, Enzyme Activity, and Microbial Communities.

The practice of intercropping, which involves growing more than one crop simultaneously during the same growing season, is becoming more important for increasing soil quality, land-use efficiency, and subsequently crop productivity. The present study examined changes in soil physicochemical properties, enzymatic activity, and microbial community composition when walnut (Juglans spp.) was intercropped with tea (Camellia sinensis L.) plants in a forest and compared with a walnut and tea monocropping system. The results showed that walnut-tea intercropping improved the soil nutrient profile and enzymatic activity. The soil available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), available potassium (AK), organic matter (OM) content, and sucrase activity were significantly boosted in intercropped walnut and tea than in monocropping forests. The interaction between crops further increased bacterial and fungal diversity when compared to monoculture tea forests. Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Chlamydiae, Rozellomycota, and Zoopagomycota were found in greater abundance in an intercropping pattern than in monoculture walnut and tea forest plantations. The walnut-tea intercropping system also markedly impacted the abundance of several bacterial and fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs), which were previously shown to support nutrient cycling, prevent diseases, and ameliorate abiotic stress. The results of this study suggest that intercropping walnut with tea increased host fitness and growth by positively influencing soil microbial populations.

https://www.fungiofpakistan.com: a continuously updated online database of fungi in Pakistan.

The website fungiofpakistan.com is a collection of all the available data about macro- as well as micro-fungi collected from Pakistan. This website comprises reported fungal species with isolation source or host record, locality and updated classification. The data on this website is based on old literature (library data, personal data of specific authors or books that were not easily accessible to public) and recent publications. This website is an important potential platform for researchers, government officials, industries and other users. Users can provide their inputs related to missing taxa, new genera, the new record and new data. They also have the opportunity to express their opinions on valid names, invalid names and illegitimate names, with notes published in the 'Notes' section of webpage provided following review and editing by curators and fungal taxonomists. This website plays a significant contribution to our knowledge of the rich fungal diversity of Pakistan. However, much more sustained and detailed research is needed to fully evaluate fungal diversity in Pakistan. Undoubtedly, that many more fungi will be discovered and added in the future. DATABASE URL: https://fungiofpakistan.com/.

Pestalotiopsis and allied genera from Camellia, with description of 11 new species from China.

A total of 124 Pestalotiopsis-like isolates associated with symptomatic and asymptomatic tissues of Camellia sinensis and other Camellia spp. from eight provinces in China were investigated. Based on single- and multi-locus (ITS, TEF, TUB2) phylogenies, as well as morphological characters, host associations and geographical distributions, they were classified into at least 19 species in three genera, i.e. Neopestalotiopsis, Pestalotiopsis and Pseudopestalotiopsis. Eight novel species in Pestalotiopsis and three novel species in Pseudopestalotiopsis were described. Our data suggested that the currently widely used loci in Pestalotiopsis-like genera do not consistently provide stable and sufficient resolution tree topologies, especially for Neopestalotiopsis. Moreover, the number, branch pattern and length of the conidial basal appendages were revealed to be phylogenetically informative characters in Pestalotiopsis.