Three New Records of Torula Species from Isolated from Different Niches in Korea

Three New Records of Torula Species from Isolated from Different Niches in Korea

Beom Seok Oh and Hyang Burm Lee*

Environmental Microbiology Lab, Dept. of Agricultural Biological Chemistry, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea

*Email: hblee@jnu.ac.kr

The genus Torula typically occurs as saprobes on decaying wood and plant debris in terrestrial and aquatic habitats of temperate and tropical regions, producing different enzymes to degrade organic matters, while some species are also reported as plant pathogens or endophytes. Although more than 540 species are listed in Index Fungorum until recently, only six species have been reported from Korea, indicating that studies on this genus still remain limited. During a survey of fungal diversity, three Torula strains (CNUFC I-9, CNUFC BSS3-2, and CNUFC SJ-LBH2-38) were isolated from insect, soil, and freshwater samples collected in Gwangju, Buan, and Sejong, respectively in Korea. Based on their morphological characteristics and molecular phylogenetic analyses of ITS and 28S rDNA sequences, the isolates were identified as T. fici, T. gaodangensis, and T. chiangmaiensis, representing new records for Korea. This study provides detailed morphological descriptions and phylogenetic placement of these species. Physiological characteristics were further assessed using temperature-dependent growth experiments and enzymatic activity assays for amylase, cellulase, and protease.