Biodiversity of Penicillium and Talaromyces species from sugarcane rhizosphere in Khuzestan province (Iran)

Members of Penicillium and Talaromyces that are among the most frequent fungi in sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) rhizosphere, gain attention from various research fields such as agriculture, medicine, biotechnology and food industry. To evaluate the species diversity of these fungi in sugarcane rhizosphere in Khuzestan province of Iran, 64 samples were collected from eight sugarcane agro-industrial plantations, from which 187 isolates of Penicillium and eight isolates of Talaromyces were obtained. Penicillium isolates were recovered largely from the sugarcane cultivation areas Karoon (39 isolates), Amir Kabir (33 isolates) and Hafttappeh (30 isolates), respectively. To select representative isolates for morphological studies, the amplified parts of the β-tubulin gene of all strains were subjected to PCR-RFLPs. Based on morphological and molecular data (sequences of β-tubulin gene), Talaromyces pinophilus and 11 species of Penicillium including P. chrysogenum, P. citrinum, P. crocicola, P. crustosum, P. oxalicum, P. palitans, P. parvulum, P. polonicum, P. restrictum, P. rubens, and P. simile were identified. Among these, P. parvulum, and P. simile are new to the Iranian funga. The results indicate that, Penicillium citrinum, isolated from all examined sugarcane cultivation areas, was the most frequent species (64.61%). Species diversity of Penicillium was highest in Salman Farsi sugarcane agro-industry plantation while members of Talaromyces were less frequent and diverse as they were only recovered from Amir Kabir, Debel Khazaei, Salman Farsi and Karoon sites.