Morpho-phylogenetic evidence for the first freshwater record of Trichoderma protrudens Samuels & P. Chaverri (Hypocreales, Sordariomycetes)

Abstract

Trichoderma protrudens Samuels & P. Chaverri was originally described from the trunk of Theobro-ma cacao L. in Kerala, India, in 2008. Morphologically, it is defined by trichoderma-like conidiophores bearing subulate or lageniform phialides, green subglobose to obovoidal conidia, and the presence of chlamydospores in culture. Multilocus phylogenetic analyses based on ITS, rpb2, and tef1-α sequence data confirmed the iden-tity of the isolates from the Philippines as T. protrudens, with robust support values (100% ML, 1.00 BPP) clustering them with the holotype CBS 121320. This study represents the first global record of T. protrudens in a freshwater ecosystem, expanding this species’ known ecological range into aquatic environments. These findings emphasize the ecological versatility of T. protrudens and underscore the importance of further inves-tigations into the fungal diversity of freshwater habitats.