Penicillium araracuarense sp. nov., Penicillium elleniae sp. nov., Penicillium penarojense sp. nov., Penicillium vanderhammenii sp. nov. and Penicillium wotroi sp. nov., isolated from leaf litter

Several species of the genus Penicillium were isolated during a survey of the mycobiota of leaf litter and soil in Colombian Amazon forest. Five species, Penicillium penarojense sp. nov. (type strain CBS 113178T = IBT 23262T), Penicillium wotroi sp. nov. (type strain CBS 118171T = IBT 23253T), Penicillium araracuarense sp. nov. (type strain CBS 113149T = IBT 23247T), Penicillium elleniae sp. nov. (type strain CBS 118135T = IBT 23229T) and Penicillium vanderhammenii sp. nov. (type strain CBS 126216T = IBT 23203T) are described here as novel species.

Their taxonomic novelty was determined using a polyphasic approach, combining phenotypic, molecular (ITS and partial β-tubulin sequences) and extrolite data. Phylogenetic analyses showed that each novel species formed a unique clade for both loci analysed and that they were most closely related to Penicillium simplicissimum, Penicillium janthinellum, Penicillium daleae and Penicillium brasilianum.

An overview of the phylogeny of this taxonomically difficult group is presented, and 33 species are accepted. Each of the five novel species had a unique extrolite profile of known and uncharacterized metabolites and various compounds, such as penicillic acid, andrastin A, pulvilloric acid, paxillin, paspaline and janthitrem, were commonly produced by these phylogenetically related species.

The novel species had a high growth rate on agar media, but could be distinguished from each other by several macro- and microscopical characteristics.