First Report of Green Mold Disease Caused by Trichoderma hengshanicum on Ganoderma lingzhi .

Ganoderma lingzhiis a well-known source of natural fungal medicines which has been given for the treatment of several diseases. China is one of the major commercial producers of Ganoderma mushroom worldwide. However, with the expansion of the commercial cultivation, the occurrence of the fungal diseaseson G. lingzhi has also been increased. The green mold disease symptoms were observed in the cultivation base ofG.lingzhiin Zuojia Town, Jilin City, Jilin Province, China, causing the basidiomes to be rotten and withered, and the green mycelium layer generated gradually. The pathogenicity tests showed the same symptoms as appeared naturally in Zuojia mushroom base. Morphology characters revealed conidia green, ellipsoid, globose, 2.56-4.83 x 2.09-4.22 mu m, length-width ratio was 1.1-1.2 (n = 10). Conidiophores trichoderma-like, often asymmetry, branches solitary, paired or in whorls of 3 phialides formed solitary, paired or in whorl, variable in shape, lageniform, sometimes ampulliform or subulate. While using molecular methodology, comparing with the sequences ofTrichodermahengshanicumfrom GenBank, the analyzed sequence showed 97.32% homology with the RPB2 sequences, 100% with the TEF1-alpha sequences. A fungus isolated from the diseased tissues was identified based on morphology and molecular studies asT. hengshanicum. This is the first report ofT.hengshanicumcausing the green mold disease ofG.lingzhiin China.