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A survey was conducted to identify the fungus gnats (Diptera: Mycetophilidae) in Kermanshah province (west of Iran) during 2010-2011. The specimens were collected from nine different localities. Adults were reared from the fruiting bodies of Agaric fungi. Five species are recorded for the first time from Iran: Mycetophila strigatoides (Lundrock), Allodia ornaticollis (Meigen), Rymosia pseudocretensis Burghele-Balacesco, Synplasta gracilis (Winnertz) and Sciophila eryngii Chandler. Eight host associations (gnats-fungi) are also reported for the first time. The diagnostic characters, host range and geographical distribution of each species are given.  

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In biological methods, microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, actinomycets and yeasts are used to produce metal nanoparticles. Fungi are extremely good candidates in the synthesis of silver nanoparticles because of their ability to secrete large amounts of enzymes. The aim of this study was the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles by Penicillium spp. isolated from the soil of plump and zinc mine in Zanjan city (Iran). After culturing, growth of colonies and isolation of Penicillium spp., 15 g of the fungal biomass was mixed into 1 mM silver solution for 72 h incubation. The production of silver nanoparticles was characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction(XRD) and transmission electron microscopy. Among the sixteen kinds of isolated fungi, six species were recognized as Penicillium of which just the fungus Penicilliumbrevicompactum was found to be able to produce silver nanoparticles. The production of silver nanoparticles was preliminarily approved by observing  the color change of the reaction solution from colorless to yellowish brown. The synthesis of silver nanoparticles was confirmed by observing the characteristic peak at 406-425 nm. The presence of crystalline silver nanoparticles was confirmed by observing peaks in (111), (200), (220), (311) in the XRD  analysis. Transmission electron microscopy images showed that silver nanoparticles were produced in the size range of 50 -100 nm in spherical shape mainly extracellular at the surface of mycelium. The fungus was recognized to be Penicilliumbrevicompactumusing slide culture method, growth on Czapek yeast agar and Keratin-sucrose agar.

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Entomopathogenic fungi produce a variety of degrading enzymes, including proteases, chitinases and lipases, to facilitate their entry through the massive barriers of insect cuticle. Isolates of the entomopathogenic fungi vary considerably in their proteolytic activity and virulence. The proteolytic activity of different isolates has been hypothesized to reflect their virulence toward the host. In this study, we evaluated the virulence and proteolytic activity of 17 Beauveria bassiana sensu lato isolates collected from different geographical regions in Iran. The selective medium D0C2 was used for isolating B. bassiana from soil samples. Casein substrate was used for protease assay. Total mortalities caused by different B. bassiana isolates through the dipping method, ranged from 25 to 60% with the highest and lowest rates for isolates BA and MITE, respectively. Our results revealed a wide variation in both proteolytic activity and virulence among the studied isolates. Additionally, we found a strong positive correlation between the proteolytic activity on Casein substrate and virulence of the isolates against the Khapra beetle, Trogoderma granarium. This finding will facilitate the screening and selection process of virulent fungal isolates as efficient agents for use in biological control programs of insect pests.  

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The sub-lethal effect of Metarhizium anisopliae and imidacloprid as well as combination of the two control agents was examined on life table parameters of Myzus persicae on different cultivars of canola under laboratory condition at 25 ± 1 ºC, 85% RH and photoperiod of 16L: 8D. The offspring resulting from fungus-infested adults were placed onto leaf discs in Petri dishes separately to record their development time till they reached to adulthood. The number of nymphs produced by each adult aphid was recorded daily. The intrinsic rate of increase(r_m) had no significant differences among the three cultivars, and was nearly similar to the net reproductive rate (R₀). The concurrent application of M. anisopliae and imidacloprid significantly shortened the aphid longevity on the RGS003 cv compared to the other cultivars. The type of cultivars had no impact on the finite rate of increase (λ) of green peach aphid in any of the treatments. The values of T showed that there was no significant difference among the treatments. Despite having no significant effect on life table characteristics of M. persicae by most of the treatments, the method would be a favorable procedure to control the aphid by raising the fungal concentration. Conducting such research would be worthwhile since there are no antagonistic interactions between the entomopathogenic fungus and the insecticide.

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Previous investigations related to tree-fungus beetle, Xylographus bostrichoides (Dufour) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea: Ciidae) have not studied beetle's morphology in detail.  This beetle is associated with tree fungi and collected from Fomes sp (Polyporales: Fomitopsidaceae). Pregenital ring, and the almond-shaped plates of abdominal terminalia, are useful characters for the species identification. Also, frontoclypeal area, first abdominal sternite, and abdominal terminalia are the important characters for the female and male separation. The larvae and adult specimens of X. bostrichoides (Dufour, 1843) studied here were found feeding on the dried fruit body (basidiome) of Fomes sp., which had been stored for a long time as a mushroom stored product. The signs and symptoms of the beetle damage (feeding) on the mushroom are also described.

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The genus and species of fungus-feeding thrips, Tylothrips osborni (Hinds), are newly recorded from Turkey based on two apterous females collected from wheat. Taxonomic characterization of the genus and species is provided and illustrated. This is the sixth record in Europe of this American species, and the significance of this disjunct distribution is discussed.

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This paper presents new information on black fungus gnats (Sciaridae) based on field studies at seven localities in Iran. Five sciarid species from the genera Bradysia Winnertz, Corynoptera Winnertz and Lycoriella Frey were collected with Malaise traps, yellow sticky traps, sweep net and an aspirator between 2015 and 2021: Bradysia cellarum Frey, 1948; B. ocellaris (Comstock, 1882); B. tilicola (Loew, 1850); Corynoptera fatigans (Johannsen, 1912); Lycoriella sativae (Johannsen, 1912). All species are first records for the Sistan and Baluchestan province. Bradysia tilicola (Loew) is new to Iran and was recorded for the first time in the Middle East. This brings the number of known sciarid species from Iran to seven. For five species are given a short morphological diagnosis and the global distribution. A map illustrates the distribution of all identified sciarid species in Iran.

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The fungus feeding genus Preeriella Hood is reported first time based on Preeriella armigera Okajima, collected on leaf litter from West Bengal, India. Another phlaeothripid species Hoplandrothrips ochraceus Okajima & Urushihara is recorded from India for the first time. Specimens of H. ochraceus were collected on Curcuma species (rhizomatous annual or perennial herb) belonging to family Zingiberaceae. Notes on the material examined, distribution, diagnostic characters and illustration for the new records are presented.

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Strawberry  fruit is popular for fresh eating but it has a short shelf and rapidly infected The consumer demanded to prolong its shelf life. Chitosan is a natural biopolymer which has an antimicrobial effect on fresh fruits and vegetables. Some essential oils also have the antimicrobial activity. The combination of these two agents can be applied in order to prolong the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables. In this study 0%, 0.3% and 0.5% of chitosan solutions, 1 mg/l of vanillin + 0.3%of chitosan and 1 mg/l of vanillin + 0.5%of chitosan solutions were used to coat strawberry. Fungi isolated from an infected strawberry fruit, after screening was incubated to the fresh fruit coated with the prepared solutions and kept in refrigerator at 4 ^o C. The solid soluble materials, ascorbic acid and the titerable acidity were measured before and after the coating. The results showed chitosan plus vanillin can prolong the shelf life of the strawberry up to 18 days at  4 ^o C.  

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Genus Lentinula comprises some of the most important edible and medicinal fungal species of the world. To compare growth rate of the strains of this genus, samples were collected from different regions of the world including Iran during 2017-2018. Investigation of the growth of 40 strains on two substrates containing malt and wheat straw extracts showed their relatively excellent performance on both media. Based on preliminary growth characteristics of the strains, 20 strains were selected to study their growth rate on natural substrate containing defined proportion of straw (40%) + sawdust (40%) + wheat bran (20%). Three strains including VM230 (UK strain), VM267 (Belgium strain) and VM353 (Japanese strain) showed high growth rate (65.25, 63.75 and 64.50 mm d^-1, respectively), and were identified as Lentinula edodes by ITS4 and ITS5 sequencing. Growth rate of the best strain (VM230) was evaluated on different substrates containing different proportions of straw, sawdust and wheat bran. The highest growth rate (58.75 mm d^-1) for VM230 was recorded on wheat straw (80%) + wheat bran (20%). These three strains are promising for commercial production of Shiitake.
 

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Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin is an important natural regulator of insect populations. Identification of a suitable molecular marker for detecting a virulent phenotype on a target pest would be useful in screening for effective isolates against the pest. Nine isolates of B. bassiana were tested for their virulence to adults of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) in laboratory bioassay with 1×10⁸ conidia mL^-1. DNA markers provide more detailed genomic information.DNA fingerprints were generated by RAPD markers. Fungal DNA was extracted by CTAB. Twelve random oligonucleotide primers were used for amplification. After bioassay, three arbitrary categories of isolates were chosen i.e. isolates that caused > 45%, 45-30% and < 30% mortality, and were classified as highly (H), moderately (M), and less (L) virulent isolates based on average mortality, respectively. Also, based on LT₅₀ values, three arbitrary categories were chosen i.e. isolates with < 80 h, 80-100 h and > 100 h LT₅₀ values, and were classified as highly (H), moderately (M), and less (L) virulent isolates, respectively. The results of bioassay showed that isolates IRAN 440C and DEBI 004 were the causative agents of mycoses with the highest and lowest lethal effect, respectively. The lowest LT₅₀ value was related to DEBI 014. Cluster analysis of the RAPD data showed four clusters according to similarity, following cluster analysis using the Jaccard similarity coefficient and clustering was done using un-weighted pair group method with arithmetic (UPGMA). The results showed that there was genetic diversity between these isolates, but the groups based on virulence rating and LT₅₀ values did not match with the RAPD clusters completely.