Recently, farmers of mushroom farms in Korea express the difficulty of shiitake cultivation due to the damage of oak log beds by unknown reason. To elucidate the cause of the damage, we investigated and isolated fungi from inside wood chip of the damaged shiitake log bed. Four of green fungi were obtained and their morphology and molecular properties examined. Trichoderma atroviride, Trichoderma citrinoviride, Hypocrea lixii (Trichoderma harzianum), and Hypocrea lutea (Gliocladiumviride) were identified. Hypocarea lutea is newly described in Korea. These species were able to produce extracellular enzymes such as cellulase, pectinase, and xylanse that might degrade wood components of oak logs. This study provides strong evidence that Trichoderma fungi are involved in the recent damages of shiitake log beds In Korea.

• Jun Young Kim(Department of Microbiology and Institute of Basic Sciences, Dankook University, Cheonan, Chungnam 330-714 Korea)
• Longqing Tang( Department of Microbiology and Institute of Basic Sciences, Dankook University, Cheonan, Chungnam 330-714 Korea) | Longqing Tang
• Hyuk Woo Kwon( Department of Microbiology and Institute of Basic Sciences, Dankook University, Cheonan, Chungnam 330-714 Korea) | Hyuk Woo Kwon
• Seong Hwan Kim( Department of Microbiology and Institute of Basic Sciences, Dankook University, Cheonan, Chungnam 330-714 Korea) | Seong Hwan Kim