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Aspergillus fumigatus. A-C. Colonies 7 d 25 °C. A. CYA. B. MEA. C. CYA 37 °C. after 3 d. D-I. Conidiophores. D-F. A. fumigatus. G-H. A. fumigatus var. ellipticus. I. Atypical conidiophore of CBS 133.61. J. Conidia of A. fumigatus var. ellipticus. K. Conidia of A. fumigatus. Scale bars = 10 μm.
Source publication
The taxonomy of Aspergillus section Fumigati with its
teleomorph genus Neosartorya is revised. The species concept is based
on phenotypic (morphology and extrolite profiles) and molecular
(β-tubulin and calmodulin gene sequences) characters in a polyphasic
approach. Four new taxa are proposed: N. australensis N. ferenczii, N.
papuaensis and N. warc...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... (found here), asperpentyn (Muhlenfeld & Achenbach 1988), duricaulic acid and asperdurin (Achenbach et al. 1985a), phthalides and chromanols (Achenbach et al. 1982a(Achenbach et al. , 1985b), cyclopaldic acid and 3-O-methylcyclopolic acid (Brillinger et al. 1978;Achenbach et al. 1982b Aspergillus fumigatus Fresenius, Beitr. Mykol. 81: 18. 1863. Fig. 9. = Aspergillus fumigatus var. acolumnaris Rai, Agarwal & Tewari (1971) = Aspergillus fumigatus var. albus Rai, Tewari & Agarwal (1974) = Aspergillus fumigatus var. cellulosae Sartory, Sartory & Mey. (1935) = Aspergillus fumigatus var. coeruleus Malchevsk. (1939) = Aspergillus fumigatus var. ellipticus Raper & Fennell (1965) = ...Citations
... Aer separating and purifying the fungi, their macroscopic characteristics, such as the shape and color of the colony and the growth method on the PDA medium, were investigated. en, their microscopic characteristics were evaluated by preparing microscopic slides and using different identification keys (Ellis, 1971;Gams & Bissett, 1998;Leslie & Summerell, 2006;Reper & Fennell, 1965;Samson et al., 2007;Simmons, 1967Simmons, , 2007Sivanesan, 1987). Aer the morphological identification, molecular identification was done. ...
The rice blast disease caused by Pyricularia oryzae Cavara is among the most severe plant diseases in the world. e utilization of natural antagonists, such as fungal endophytes, can be a good method to control the spread of this disease. In the present study, 68 fungal isolates were obtained from 160 rice samples collected in Guilan province fields, Iran. Morphological and molecular characteristics were used for the identification of these fungi. According to the results, the fungal isolates were Alternaria citri (Penz.) Mussat, Alternaria infectoria Sim-mons, Aspergillus fumigatus Fresen, Fusarium verticillioides (Sacc.) Nirenberg, Tri-choderma harzianum Rifai, Trichoderma virens (Mill., Giddens & Foster) Arx, Trichoderma viride Pers., Ulocladium consortiale (um) Simmons, and Pyricularia oryzae. Eight isolates that did not cause any plant disease were selected for bio-control studies in vitro. e dual culture, culture filtrate, slide culture, and volatile metabolites methods were used in search of natural endophytic antagonists of Pyricularia oryzae. It was found that T. harzianum, T. virens, T. viride, A. fumigatus, and A. citri isolates caused the highest percentage of mycelial growth inhibition of P. oryzae in vitro. In the greenhouse experiments, all of the studied isolates reduced the P. oryzae disease rating, with T. harzianum isolate being the most effective antagonist (27.36% reduction in the disease rating), followed by T. virens, T. viride, and A. fumigatus (20.75%, 17.92%, and 16.98%, respectively). Furthermore, in greenhouse conditions, these antagonistic fungi increased the height, fresh weight, and dry weight of plants. e results of this research showed that there are various fungi in the natural flora of rice plants that possess potential biological properties against rice blast disease that can be implemented into practice.
... Though increased trends of counts were recorded along the PVC, counts in PaPPo showed a slight decline, by 4.3 log CFU g −1 as compared to the UpPPo. This decline can likely be attributed to reduced further contamination (Rodrigues et al. 2007(Rodrigues et al. , 2009Houbraken et al. 2014;Moore et al. 2015;Zulkifli and Zakaria 2017); Nigri (B1-B5), dark-brown to black colony color (Silva et al. 2011;Houbraken et al. 2014); Circumdati (C1-C2), yellow to yellowish-brown/ochre colony color (Visagie et al. 2014), and Fumigati (D) on PDA, velutinous blue-green colony color (Samson et al. 2007;Zulkifli and Zakaria 2017). A3 and C2 are with rose Bengal added Page 8 of 10 Tolera et al. ...
Background
Chili is the most commonly grown spice in Ethiopia and is a high-value crop for household consumption and sale both at domestic and export markets. However, an unsafe level of fungal toxins is becoming a problem leading to challenges in exporting. This study assessed trends, possible points of Aspergillus contamination, and contamination risk factors along the Ethiopian chili postharvest value chain (PVC).
Methods
Chili handling practices, value chain actors, and their respective roles were investigated along the PVC through an exploratory type of research, a participant unstructured observation. A total of 214 individual sample units composed of multiple subsamples consisting of aseptically picked matured red pods (PiPP), dried red pods (DPP), crushed chili (CP), unpacked (UpPPo), and packed chili powder (PaPPo) were randomly collected along the PVC from different major chili growing localities of Ethiopia during 2017/2018 main cropping season. Individual sample units were further homogenized into a fine powder and composited. Aspergillus was analyzed using Aspergillus flavus and parasiticus agar medium. To monitor Aspergillus contamination, trend analysis was done using the mean of count data and biological inference was made in association with stages of operations and postharvest handling practices.
Results
Aspergillus was detected in 44% of PiPP, all (100%) of DPP, CP, UpPPo, and PaPPo. Counts were in the range of 5.00 × 10 ³ to 2.10 × 10 ⁵ CFU g ⁻¹ up along the PVC with fold changes of 19.6, 30, 42, and 38-fold in DPP, CP, UpPPo, and PaPPo, respectively. Nigri (99%), Flavi (85%), and Circumdati (56%) were the most detected sections with relative densities of 50, 29, and 14%, respectively. Postharvest handling practices such as harvesting, sun-drying, and transporting were generally found poor and unhygienic.
Conclusions
Counts of Aspergillus showed gradually increasing trends up along the PVC. The poor and unhygienic handling practices probably contributed to the contamination. Harvesting and direct open sun-drying were likely initial and critical points of contamination while wetting and tight stacking likely contributed to aggravated growth and proliferation of aspergilli leading to further consecutive buildup. Intervention at these stages would make a significant difference.
... Initially, fungi were categorized based on morphospecies using their colony characteristics when grown on MEA, oatmeal agar (OA), and dichloran glycerol (DG18) agar incubated at temperatures of 25 and 35°C for 7 days [15]. Fungal morphology and physiology were studied for identifcation at both the genus and species levels using macroscopic and microscopic characteristics, including colony morphology, hyphal structure, and spore arrangement, following the described methods for Aspergillus [16], Talaromyces [17], Hamigera [18], Penicillium [19], and Paecilomyces [20]. ...
Heat-resistant molds (HRMs) are important spoilage fungi of heat-processed fruit products worldwide. Ascospores of HRMs are widely distributed in the soil in which fruits are grown and are often found associated with raw fruit materials. To date, there is little available information on the distribution of HRMs in the soil and on their heat resistance. Thus, this study determined the presence and characterized the heat resistance of HRMs in soil samples from pineapple and sugarcane fields in Thailand. HRMs were detected in all soil samples, and the most dominant species was Aspergillus with 50–99.2% relative abundance. Other isolates, in descending order of frequency, were Penicillium, Talaromyces, Hamigera, and Paecilomyces. Then, 100 representative HRM isolates were identified based on a combination of morphological characteristics and ITS sequences. They were classified into 5 genera and 24 species. The heat resistance of ascospores aged 30 days produced by selected HRMs was qualitatively determined in a glucose-buffered solution. Based on their log reductions after heat shock at 75°C for 30 min, they were classified as less, moderately, or highly heat-resistant ascospores. HRMs belonging to A. chevalieri, A. denticulatus, A. siamensis, A. laciniosus, A. fennelliae, A. spinosus, Paec. niveus, H. pallida, and T. macrosporus produced high heat-resistant ascospores. In addition, soil physicochemical properties significantly influenced the prevalence of HRMs, depending on the fungal genus. The thermal resistance of ascospores was significantly and positively correlated to available phosphorus, whereas it was negatively correlated to soil pH. The results of this study confirmed the presence of HRMs in soils and potential HRM contamination, especially in fruits growing in acidic or high-nutrient soils, or both.
... Five Aspergillus sections (Fumigati, Flavi, Nigri, Terrei, and Nid ulante) have been reported to cause disease in humans among the 17 assigned sections in the family Aspergillaceae [2], and are therefore of health and economic relevance. Being the known opportunistic pathogens that they are, some species of the genus have been isolated from a wide variety of substrata of major biomes, including soil and litter [3][4][5], and are main players in the degradation processes of organic matter in ecosystems. A thorough understanding of the environmental strains' evolutionary dynamics leading to their pathogenicity and of the interactions with organic and inorganic diversity of these diseased-causing species will ensure that effective control measures will be taken. ...
... Under NaCl-induced stress, Aspergillus species are able to produce large amounts of cellulases, expediting the breakdown of cellulose that can be used for growth and energy generation [94]. Also, the ability to respond to multiple environmental stresses, including antifungal drugs, and the capacity to biosynthesize a range of structurally diverse secondary metabolites, are advantageous for the survival of this fungal group [3,80,96,97]. ...
... Their ability to secrete various degrading enzymes enables the fungus to infect a wide variety of hosts saprotrophically [86,87]. Also, their high efficiency in responding to other significant environmental stressors confers an advantage on this group of fungi [3,80,96,139]. Lastly, the remarkable discovery of sexual stages among members of the genus Aspergillus that were formerly assumed to be asexual confers an ecological advantage and increased pathogenicity within this group. ...
Five Aspergillus sections have members that are established agricultural pests and producers of different metabolites, threatening global food safety. Most of these pathogenic Aspergillus species have been isolated from almost all major biomes. The soil remains the primary habitat for most of these cryptic fungi. This review explored some of the ecological attributes that have contributed immensely to the success of the pathogenicity of some members of the genus Aspergillus over time. Hence, the virulence factors of the genus Aspergillus, their ecology and others were reviewed. Furthermore, some biological control techniques were recommended. Pathogenic effects of Aspergillus species are entirely accidental; therefore, the virulence evolution prediction model in such species becomes a challenge, unlike their obligate parasite counterparts. In all, differences in virulence among organisms involved both conserved and species-specific genetic factors. If the impacts of climate change continue, new cryptic Aspergillus species will emerge and mycotoxin contamination risks will increase in all ecosystems, as these species can metabolically adjust to nutritional and biophysical challenges. As most of their gene clusters are silent, fungi continue to be a source of underexplored bioactive compounds. The World Soil Charter recognizes the relevance of soil biodiversity in supporting healthy soil functions. The question of how a balance may be struck between supporting healthy soil biodiversity and the control of toxic fungi species in the field to ensure food security is therefore pertinent. Numerous advanced strategies and biocontrol methods so far remain the most environmentally sustainable solution to the control of toxigenic fungi in the field.
... Conidiation was abundant and rarely less abundant ( Figure S1C,D). Colony texture was velutinous ( Figure S1A) [41]. The fungal isolate was identified using the sequence analysis of ITS region homology. ...
Low density polyethylene (LDPE) has been widely used commercially for decades; however, as a non-degradable material, its continuous accumulation has contributed to serious environmental issues. A fungal strain, Cladosporium sp. CPEF-6 exhibiting a significant growth advantage on MSM-LDPE (minimal salt medium), was isolated and selected for biodegradation analysis. LDPE biodegradation was analyzed by weight loss percent, change in pH during fungal growth, environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Inoculation with the strain Cladosporium sp. CPEF-6 resulted in a 0.30 ± 0.06% decrease in the weight of untreated LDPE (U-LDPE). After heat treatment (T-LDPE), the weight loss of LDPE increased significantly and reached 0.43 ± 0.01% after 30 days of culture. The pH of the medium was measured during LDPE degradation to assess the environmental changes caused by enzymes and organic acids secreted by the fungus. The fungal degradation of LDPE sheets was characterized by ESEM analysis of topographical alterations, such as cracks, pits, voids, and roughness. FTIR analysis of U-LDPE and T-LDPE revealed the appearance of novel functional groups associated with hydrocarbon biodegradation as well as changes in the polymer carbon chain, confirming the depolymerization of LDPE. This is the first report demonstrating the capacity of Cladosporium sp. to degrade LDPE, with the expectation that this finding can be used to ameliorate the negative impact of plastics on the environment.
... For example, polyphasic taxonomy has been used in large, heterogeneous, and cosmopolitan genera such as Cladosporium (Pers.) Link, Penicillium Link, and Aspergillus P. Micheli to resolve their taxonomy better [20][21][22]. Eco-physiological features in fungal taxa such as the source of isolation, lifestyle, associations with other organisms, tolerance to environmental parameters have been used to discriminate individual strains of closely related taxa [23][24][25][26]. One of the most promising features in studying fungi is their ability to utilize a variety of organic matter sources with different degrees of bioavailability. ...
Contributions of fungal and oomycete communities to freshwater carbon cycling have received increasing attention in the past years. It has been shown that fungi and oomycetes constitute key players in the organic matter cycling of freshwater ecosystems. Therefore, studying their interactions with dissolved organic matter is crucial for understanding the aquatic carbon cycle. So, we studied consumption rates of various carbon sources by 17 fungal and eight oomycete strains recovered from various freshwater ecosystems using EcoPlate™ and FF MicroPlate™ approaches. Furthermore, phylogenetic relationships between strains were determined via single and multigene phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer regions. Our results indicated that the studied fungal and oomycete strains could be distinguished based on their carbon utilization patterns, as indicated by their phylogenetic distance. Thereby, some carbon sources had a higher discrimina-tive strength to categorize the studied strains and thus were applied in a polyphasic approach. We concluded that studying the catabolic potential enables a better understanding of taxonomic relationships and ecological roles of fungal vs. oomycete strains.
... Furthermore, the detection frequency of Neosartorya spp. in food and soil varies according to the species. These species produce various toxins; for example, N. fischeri produces neurotrophic mycotoxins fumitremorgin A and verruculogen, and N. pseudofischeri produces gliotoxins that cause fungal infections (de Hoog et al., 2021b;Samson, Hong, Peterson, Frisvad, & Varga, 2007). Therefore, the development of a rapid method for species identification is essential for the food industry. ...
There is increasing incidence of food spoilage and health hazards caused by heat-resistant fungi belonging to the genera Byssochlamys, Thermoascus, and Neosartorya, among others. Their ascospores cannot be sterilized by heating the food. The microbiological risk assessment studies of these fungi during the production of food and beverages indicated that these fungal species or genera in food are associated with different health risks. Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish Byssochlamys, Thermoascus, and Neosartorya from other fungi in the food industry. These genera can be identified by sequence analysis of housekeeping genes such as β-tubulin, but the process is costly and time-consuming. Therefore, rapid and simple PCR-based methods have been developed using specific primer sets for genus- or species-level identification. PCR amplification products are observed to be specific for each of these genera or species and do not cross-react with other fungi associated with food spoilage and environmental contamination. These identification methods are simple, rapid, and highly specific, making them feasible for use in the quality management of food production plants.
... Some examples of species regarded as synonymous are presented in the table below (Table 1). N. spinosa N. botucatensis, N. paulistensis, N. takaki Circular arrangements on the convex walls of ascospores Accepted [22] Neosartorya primulina N. quadricincta ...
... Nearly identical gene sequences for β-tubulin, calmodulin and actin, morphology, ascospore ornamentation, restricted growth on Czapek agar Accepted [22] Neosartorya delicata N. tatenoi Identical ascospore morphology, nearly identical gene sequences for β-tubulin, calmodulin and actin Accepted [22] N. spinosa, N. glabra, N. assulata, N. quadricincta, N. hiratsukae and N. laciniosa are commonly isolated from fruit and soil surfaces ( Table 2). They have been previously isolated from Polish soil and strawberry samples [3]. ...
... Nearly identical gene sequences for β-tubulin, calmodulin and actin, morphology, ascospore ornamentation, restricted growth on Czapek agar Accepted [22] Neosartorya delicata N. tatenoi Identical ascospore morphology, nearly identical gene sequences for β-tubulin, calmodulin and actin Accepted [22] N. spinosa, N. glabra, N. assulata, N. quadricincta, N. hiratsukae and N. laciniosa are commonly isolated from fruit and soil surfaces ( Table 2). They have been previously isolated from Polish soil and strawberry samples [3]. ...
Soil-borne Neosartorya spp. are the highly resilient sexual reproductive stage (teleomorph) of Aspergillus spp. Fungi of this genus are relevant components of root-associated microbial community, but they can also excrete mycotoxins and exhibit great resistance to high temperatures. Their ascospores easily transfer between soil and crops; thus, Neosartorya poses a danger to horticulture and food production, especially to the postharvest quality of fruits and vegetables. The spores are known to cause spoilage, mainly in raw fruit produce, juices, and pulps, despite undergoing pasteurization. However, these fungi can also participate in carbon transformation and sequestration, as well as plant protection in drought conditions. Many species have been identified and included in the genus, and yet some of them create taxonomical controversy due to their high similarity. This also contributes to Neosartorya spp. being easily mistaken for its anamorph, resulting in uncertain data within many studies. The review discusses also the factors shaping Neosartorya spp.'s resistance to temperature, preservatives, chemicals, and natural plant extracts, as well as presenting novel solutions to problems created by its resilient nature.
... Microscopic features such as conidiophores, vesicles, metules, phialides, shape, and texture of spores were observed under a microscope (MOTIC SFC-18, Hong Kong, Asia) at 10, 40, and 100 magnifications. Several identification keys were used including those described by Klich [15], Samson [17], Samson [18], and Samson [16]. ...
... Due to the microscopic nature of many fungi and lack of known sexual cycles for some species (Dyer and O'Gorman, 2012), species delimitation in the Kingdom Fungi has relied, in addition to cultural growth and micromorphological data, on molecular phylogenetics and the adoption of universal molecular barcodes (Schoch et al., 2012). Among Aspergillus fungi, multi-locus molecular phylogenetic approaches have become the predominant method (Samson et al., 2007Houbraken and Samson, 2011;Houbraken et al., 2014). However, there is no current consensus for barcode similarity to designate a new species of fungi; for example, calmodulin gene sequences of Aspergillus labruscus and Aspergillus oerlinghausenensis-two recently described species of Aspergillus-share 85% and 97.3% sequence similarity to their closest relatives, Aspergillus homomorphus and Aspergillus fumigatus, respectively (Houbraken et al., 2016;Fungaro et al., 2017). ...
Modern taxonomic classification is often based on phylogenetic analyses of a few molecular markers, although single-gene studies are still common. However, the use of one or few molecular markers can lead to inaccurate inferences of species history and errors in classification. Here, we leverage genome-scale molecular phylogenetics (phylogenomics) of species and populations to reconstruct evolutionary relationships in a dense dataset of 711 fungal genomes from the biomedically and technologically important genus Aspergillus . To do so, we generated a novel set of 1,362 high-quality molecular markers specific for Aspergillus and provide profile Hidden Markov Models for each, facilitating others to use these molecular markers. Examination of the resulting genome-scale phylogeny: (1) helped resolve ongoing taxonomic controversies and identified new ones; (2) revealed extensive strain misidentification, underscoring the importance of population-level sampling in species classification; and (3) identified novel lineages that may shed light on the early evolution of an important genus. These findings suggest that phylogenomics of species and populations can facilitate accurate taxonomic classifications and reconstructions of the tree of life.
