Aspergillus trisporus: A new Jani section species from Brazilian soil

Abstract

Phenotypic characters and phylogenetic analyses based on ITS, β-tubulin (BenA) and the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB2) gene sequences were applied to identify Aspergillus trisporus, a third member of the Aspergillus Jani section isolated from soil in the Ferriferous Quadrangle, Brazil. This new species has, as morphological markers, stipes of white conidiophores markedly smaller than the other species of the section and slow growth in all culture media evaluated. A. trisporus is phylogenetically and phenotypically more related to A. brevijanus, but it can be differentiated by non-growth at 37 °C and by the shorter stipes of the white conidiophores and predominantly clavated vesicles. This report contributes to the knowledge of Brazilian soils’ fungal diversity, especially in poorly explored habitats such as the Ferriferous Quadrangle.