Biodiversity of heat-resistant Ascomycetes from semi-arid soils in Argentina

Abstract

Artificial thermal shock conducted on 50 soil samples from a semi-arid geographic region (Catamarca and La Rioja provinces) in northern Argentina yielded 34 heat-resistant fungal strains. These strains were assigned to seventeen taxa in ten ascomycete genera: Arthrinium (1), Aspergillus (3), Epicoccum (1), Gilmaniella (1), Hamigera (2), Leiothecium (1), Penicillium (2), Talaromyces (4), Trichocladium (1), and Trichoderma (1). All strains were identified by phenotypic features, with molecular data additionally obtained for eleven strains. Five species are reported for the first time in Argentina.