New records of the fungal species associated with insects in Iran

SummaryPathogenic and non-pathogenic fungi growing on insect’s body cansignificantly affect their biology and population. To identify insect-associated fungi, the life stages of the insects, including larva, pupa and adults (alive or dead and helthy), were collected from different habitats in Golestan and Khuzestan Provinces during 2017-2018 and their associated fungi were isolated after surface-sterilization. In this study, 13 various isolates were selected (based on primary morphology) and identified according to morphological and molecular analysis. For molecular identification, the sequences of ITS-nrDNA, tef1a, tub2 and gapdh were obtained, where required for identification. Accordingly, eleven species were identified as follow: Auxarthron kuehnii, Biscogniauxia sp., Cladosporium halotolerans, Curvularia mosaddeghii, Fusarium brachygibbosum, Lasiodiplodia mediterranea, Metarhizium brunneum, Nigrospora gorlenkoana, N. oryzae, N. osmanthi, Petriella guttulata and Phascolomyces articulosus. This study firstly reports the genera of Auxarthron (A. kuehnii) and Phascolomyces (P. articulosus) and the species of L. mediterranea, N. gorlenkoana and N. osmanthi for the mycobiota of Iran.