Identification and Characterization of Five Previously Unrecorded Penicillium Species of Subgenus Aspergilloides Isolated in Korea

In a survey of freshwater and near-freshwater soils in Chungbuk, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Gyeongbuk, and Gyeongnam provinces in Korea, seven fungal strains were isolated and identified as members of the genus Penicillium based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions sequence analyses. Identification was performed through observing morphological characteristics and conducting phylogenetic analyses based on concatenated partial ITS, β-tubulin, calmodulin, and RNA polymerase II subunit gene sequences. The phylogenetic analyses revealed that strain NNIBRFG6577 was distinct from known Penicillium species, and based on morphological comparisons with the closest related species, P. scruposum CGMCC 3.25167T and P. subasperum CGMCC 3.25173T, it was proposed as a novel species. Strains NNIBRFG4823, NNIBRFG4610, and NNIBRFG4600 were closely related to P. ellipsoideum CGMCC 3.25156T, P. skrjabinii CBS 439.75T, and P. yezoense CBS 350.59T, respectively, while strains NNIBRFG1486, NNIBRFG48324, and NNIBRFG49919 clustered with P. pancosmium CBS 276.75T, and all strains showed morphological characteristics similar to those of their respective reference strains. These findings enrich Korea's fungus inventory, providing a basis for valuable future resource development.