: A New Cadmium-Tolerant Fungus from Cacao Soils in Colombia.

Inorganic pollutants in Colombian cocoa ( L.) agrosystems cause problems in the production, quality, and exportation of this raw material worldwide. There has been an increased interest in bioprospecting studies of different fungal species focused on the biosorption of heavy metals. Furthermore, fungi constitute a valuable, profitable, ecological, and efficient natural soil resource that could be considered in the integrated management of cadmium mitigation. This study reports a new species of isolated from a cocoa soil sample collected in San Vicente de Chucurí, Colombia. is featured by Lemon Yellow (R. Pl. IV) mycelium on CYA, mono-to-biverticillade conidiophores, and acerose phialides. is distinguished from related species by its growth rate on CYAS and powdery textures on MEA, YES and OA, high acid production on CREA and smaller conidia. It is differentiated from by its growth rate on CYA medium at 37 °C without exudate production, its cream (R. PI. XVI) margin on MEA, and dense sporulation on YES and CYA. Phylogenetic analysis was performed using a polyphasic approach, including different phylogenetic analyses of combined and individual ITS, , , and gene sequences that indicate that it is new to science and is named sp. nov. This new species belongs to the section and is closely related to , and (inside the species complex) in the inferred phylogeny. Mycelia growth of the fungal strains was subjected to a range of 0-400 mg/kg Cd and incorporated into malt extract agar (MEA) in triplicates. Fungal radial growth was recorded every three days over a 13-day incubation period and In vitro cadmium tolerance tests showed a high tolerance index (0.81) when the mycelium was exposed to 300 mg/kg of Cd. Results suggest showed tolerance to Cd concentrations that exceed the permissible limits for contaminated soils, and it is promising for its use in bioremediation strategies to eliminate Cd from highly contaminated agricultural soils.