Identification and Characterization of Five Previously Unrecorded <i>Penicillium</i> Species of Subgenus <i>Aspergilloides</i> 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 <i>Penicillium</i> 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 <i>Penicillium</i> species, and based on morphological comparisons with the closest related species, <i>P. scruposum</i> CGMCC 3.25167^T and <i>P. subasperum</i> CGMCC 3.25173^T, it was proposed as a novel species. Strains NNIBRFG4823, NNIBRFG4610, and NNIBRFG4600 were closely related to <i>P. ellipsoideum</i> CGMCC 3.25156^T, <i>P. skrjabinii</i> CBS 439.75^T, and <i>P. yezoense</i> CBS 350.59^T, respectively, while strains NNIBRFG1486, NNIBRFG48324, and NNIBRFG49919 clustered with <i>P. pancosmium</i> CBS 276.75^T, 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.