Table 2.

Morphological, microscopic, physiological and biochemical characteristics of NRCA8 isolate

Morphotypic and lipotypic characteristics after 14 days incubation period
Macroscopic morphology					Microscopic morphology
PDA Colonies Margins Mycelium MEA Colonies Margins Mycelium OA Colonies Margins Mycelium	Attaining 38–69 mm after 14 days, iron-grey to olivaceous-grey, reverse grey to olivaceous-black, velvety to fluffy Margins regular, narrow, even and smooth, smoke gray Aerial mycelium sparse, diffuse to more intense in some spots, more abundantly formed in colony centre, fluffy with numerous small to large prominent exudates, and sporulation profuse Reaching 60–90 mm, grow in successive irregular yellowish green rings forming concentric zones with slightly lobate margins, dark olive green at centre, become slightly heaped and develop gentle folds as it ages Margins are grayish green, wide and irregular Aerial mycellium cottony to fluffy, velvety at the center, growth flat, and reverse side dark blackish green Attaining 40–63 mm olivaceous green to olivaceous because of abundant sporulation, whitish at margins; flat, slightly dusty, and reverse leaden-grey to black Margins regular, narrow to broad, and white Aerial mycelium diffuse without prominent exudates, and sporulation profuse				Mycelium Conidiophores Conidiogenous cells Ramoconidia Conidia Terminal conidia Intercalary conidia Secondary ramoconidia			Short, cylindrical, 1.5–4.5 μm wide, olivaceous-brown, smooth or verrucose towards the base of conidiophores, and thick-walls Micronematous to semimacronematous, ascending from terminal hyphae, concolourous with hyphae, unbranched, non-nodulose, non-geniculate, straight or slightly verrucose, septate, not restricted, olivaceous brown to pale brown, 20–120 μm long and 2.5–4.0 μm wide, smooth-walled, slightly thickened, and giving rise to conidiogenous apparatus with chains of conidia Integrated, terminal, cylindrical, geniculate at the apex or situated on short lateral outgrowths at the apex in terminal cells, 15–38 × 3–4 μm, bearing single or two conidiogenous loci 0.8–1.5 μm diam, thickened, slightly darkened and refractive Subcylindrical to cylindrical, (0–1)-septate, 20–30 × 2–5 μm, and smooth pale olivaceous to pale brown. Conidia making branched chains in all directions, aseptate, olive to pale brown, and smooth to verruculose 3–8 small terminal conidia in the terminal unbranched part of the chain, ellipsoid to obovoid, 3–5 × 1.8–3.5 μm, pale olivaceous-brown or pale brown, walls unthickened, apex rounded and attenuated towards the base Ellipsoid to fusiform, aseptate, 5.0–11.0 × 2.5–3.5 μm, attenuated towards apex and base with 1.0–3.0 distal hila Smooth, pale olivaceous-brown, ellipsoidal or nearly cylindrical, 0–1-septate, 8.0–17.0 × 2.5–4.0 μm, and walls unthickened with 2–4 distal hila
Maximum temp	37 °C				Maximum pH			9.5
Optimum temp	25 °C				Optimum pH			5.0 – 6.0
Minimum temp	5 °C				Minimum pH			4.0
Fatty acid	14:0	14:1	16:0	16:1		18:0	18:1		18:2	20:4	22:6	18:1 ω9c
(%)	1.22 ± 0.16	3.19 ± 0.28	24.61 ± 1.39	4.10 ± 0.36		0.67 ± 0.04	22.37 ± 1.45		24.20 ± 1.55	3.40 ± 0.39	10.00 ± 0.84	6.24 ± 0.51