Maize is a crucial cereal crop in China, serving both as a staple food and an essential industrial resource. Northern corn leaf blight (NCLB) is a disease of corn caused by a fungus, Exserohilum turcicum (sexual stage Setosphaeria turcica). This study aimed to assess the biocontrol potential of various Trichoderma strains against Exserohilum turcicum 101 in Jilin, China. Through dual culture tests, the Trichoderma strains were categorized into four groups based on their antagonistic abilities. Eleven Trichoderma strains exhibited strong antagonistic behavior, with comparable or faster growth rates than E. turcicum 101. Microscopic observations confirmed that T. asperellum 576 hyphae effectively encircled E. turcicum 101 hyphae, reinforcing their antagonistic behavior. The production of non-volatile and volatile substances by the Trichoderma strains was evaluated, with T. asperellum 576 showing the highest potency in producing non-volatile and volatile substances, leading to an impressive 80.81% and 65.86% inhibition of E. turcicum 101 growth. Remarkably, co-culture suspensions of T. asperellum 576 + E. turcicum 101 and T. atroviride 393 + E. turcicum 101 exhibited strong antifungal activity. Furthermore, the activities of chitinase, β-1.3-glucanase, and cellulase were evaluated using the 3, 5-dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) method. T. asperellum 576 + E. turcicum 101 displayed stronger cell wall degradation enzyme activity compared to T. atroviride 393 + E. turcicum 101, with values of 8.34 U/mL, 3.42 U/mL, and 7.75 U/mL, respectively. In greenhouse conditions, the application of a 10⁷ spores/mL conidia suspension of T. asperellum 576 significantly enhanced maize seed germination and plant growth while effectively suppressing E. turcicum 101 infection. Maize seedlings inoculated/treated with both E. turcicum 101 and T. asperellum 576 demonstrated substantial improvements compared to those inoculated solely with E. turcicum 101. The T. asperellum 576 treatment involved a 10⁷ spores/mL conidia suspension applied through a combination of foliar spray and soil drench. These findings highlight T. asperellum 576 as a promising biocontrol candidate against northern leaf blight in maize. Its antagonistic behavior, production of inhibitory compounds, and promotion of plant growth all contribute to its potential as an effective biocontrol agent for disease management.

The community structure of macrofungi is influenced by multiple complex factors, including climate, soil, vegetation, and human activities, making it challenging to discern their individual contributions. To investigate the dynamic changes in macrofungal diversity in an Ancient Tree Park located in Northeast China and explore the factors influencing this change, we collected 1007 macrofungi specimens from different habitats within the park and identified 210 distinct fungal species using morphological characteristics and ITS sequencing. The species were classified into 2 phyla, 6 classes, 18 orders, 55 families, and 94 genera. We found macrofungal compositions among different forest types, with the mixed forest displaying the highest richness and diversity. Climatic factors, particularly rainfall and temperature, positively influenced macrofungal species richness and abundance. Additionally, by analyzing the soil fungal community structure and comparing aboveground macrofungi with soil fungi in this small-scale survey, we found that the soil fungal bank is not the main factor leading to changes in the macrofungal community structure, as compared to the influence of climate factors and forest types. Our findings provide valuable insights into the dynamic nature of macrofungal diversity in the Ancient Tree Park, highlighting the influence of climate and forest type.

The soilborne fungus Hymenula cerealis causes Cephalosporium stripe, a vascular wilt disease of wheat and other grasses in the United States and other wheat-producing countries where winter wheat is subjected to snow cover and frozen soil. No sexual stage is known for H. cerealis, and consequently, its phylogenetic position relative to other fungi has been difficult to establish. The purpose of this study was to conduct a multilocus sequence analysis to determine the phylogenetic position of H. cerealis. Sequence data for five genes, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), partial large subunit nrDNA (LSU), partial RNA polymerase II second largest subunit region (RPB2), β-tubulin gene, and translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1-α), from a diverse set of C. gramineum isolates and other related fungi was obtained from GenBank or directly from isolates in the Murray lab and used to construct maximum-likelihood and Bayesian trees. Based on phylogenetic analysis of the single LSU and β-tubulin genes, Cephalosporium gramineum is closely related to the Drepanopezizaceae and Ploettnerulaceae of Helotiales. Based on analyses of the DNA sequence of the ITS, RPB2, and TEF1-α genes, as well as the combined five-gene data set, C. gramineum belongs to the family Drepanopezizaceae, which is a sister taxon to the Ploettnerulaceae, and formed a well-supported clade (MLBP/BIPP = 95%/100%). In conclusion, H. cerealis belongs to the Helotiales, Leotiomycetes.

Using combined morphological characteristics and molecular phylogeny, a new species Querciphoma styphnolobii sp. nov. (Dothideomycetes, Pleosporales) from China is described and illustrated. The new species is distinguished by dark green to black colony, eustromatic conidiomata, smooth, hyaline, cylindrical conidia with one middle constricted, septate and muriform ascospores. Phylogenetic analyses using multilocus sequence data of internal transcribed spacers (ITS), large subunit 28S rDNA (LSU), small subunit 18S rDNA (SSU), and translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1-α) regions revealed that Q. styphnolobii is closely related to Q. minuta in Leptosphaeriaceae. The sexual stage of Querciphoma is characterized by superficial, rough, or hairy ascomata, cellular pseudoparaphyses, ellipsoidal and muriform ascospore with a multi-transverse vertical septum.

A taxonomic study was conducted on Trichoderma species isolated from decaying wood in China. As a result, five novel species, T. flavobritdaniae , T. foliatum , T. fulviclavum , T. liaoningense , and T. parvostromatum , were identified, described in detail, and illustrated based on morphological characteristics and molecular data inferred from sequences of the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II ( rpb 2) and the translation elongation factor 1-alpha ( tef 1-α). Among the five new species, T. flavobritdaniae , T. fulviclavum , and T. parvostromatum exhibit both asexual and sexual morphs, whereas T. foliatum and T. liaoningense are currently known only from their asexual morphs. Notably, T. fulviclavum produces clavate stromata but does not cluster with clavate-stromatic species traditionally assigned to the Viride clade. Phylogenetic analyses recovered all five taxa as well-supported, distinct lineages assigned to the Longibrachiatum, Harzianum, Psychrophilum, Semiorbis, and Brevicompactum clades. The discovery of these new species from China improves the understanding of Trichoderma diversity and biogeography and provides genetic resources with potential agricultural and industrial applications.

Armillaria ostoyae is an economically important forest pathogen whose reproductive development is regulated by environmental cues. Although low temperature is recognized as an important morphogenetic stimulus, the molecular mechanisms underlying the resulting developmental transition—here termed “cryometamorphosis”—remain poorly understood. Using an orthogonal experimental design, we categorized A. ostoyae as a “cold-pressed” species. Induction at 4 °C significantly accelerated primordium formation, reducing the time required for initiation from 25 to 7 days. Transcriptomic profiling across developmental and morphological stages revealed that primordium initiation was associated with the most extensive transcriptional reprograming across the reproductive trajectory. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis identified a core low-temperature-associated module, MEturquoise, and revealed a putative hierarchical regulatory network. Within this network, a group of fungus-specific Zn(II) ₂ Cys ₆ transcription factors whose promoters contained predicted low-temperature response elements were tightly co-expressed with putative SET-domain histone methyltransferases and F-box proteins. To functionally validate this regulatory model, we established an optimized genetic transformation system for A. ostoyae and overexpressed the leading candidate gene, AoZCy6_17 . Overexpression of AoZCy6_17 at a constant temperature of 25 °C was associated with a pronounced morphological transition: no visible rhizomorph formation was observed in the OE strain under the conditions tested, together with increased production of dense aerial mycelia accompanied by abundant surface droplets. Biochemical assays showed that the overexpression strain exhibited enhanced basal antioxidant activity, with significantly higher catalase activity than the wild type (approximately 2,436 versus 2,001 U g ^-1 fresh weight; P < 0.001). This constitutive physiological reprograming was also associated with increased malondialdehyde accumulation under non-stress conditions (approximately 23.1 versus 9.6 nmol g ^-1 fresh weight), indicating a potential physiological cost. Notably, activation of AoZCy6_17 alone recapitulated and, for some biochemical traits, exceeded the changes induced by exposure of the wild-type strain to 4 °C. Collectively, our findings provide functional evidence that AoZCy6_17 is a key regulator linking low-temperature signaling to developmental and physiological reprograming in A. ostoyae , thereby establishing a mechanistic framework for investigating fungal cryometamorphosis.