Author
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Peterson, Stephen |
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Submitted to: Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Publication Type: Review Article Publication Acceptance Date: 5/10/2012 Publication Date: 5/29/2012 Citation: Peterson, S.W. 2012. Aspergillus and Penicillium identification using DNA sequences: Barcode or MLST? Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 95(2):339-344. Interpretive Summary: Mold identification is technically demanding and potentially will become much quicker and more accurate if DNA sequence technology is used to aid the process. Different approaches to using DNA sequence data for identification of molds are compared. Because molds cause plant disease, storage degradation of commodities, and occasional human disease it is important to accurately and quickly identify them. Plant pathologists, medical technologists, and academic mycologists should benefit from this information. Technical Abstract: Current methods in DNA technology can detect single nucleotide polymorphisms with measurable accuracy using several different approaches appropriate for different uses. If there are even single nucleotide differences that are invariant markers of the species, we can accomplish identification through rapid DNA based tests. The question of whether we can reliably detect and identify species of Aspergillus and Penicillium turns mainly upon the completeness of our alpha taxonomy, our species concepts, and how well the available DNA data coincide with the taxonomic diversity in the family Trichocomaceae. No single gene is yet known that is invariant within species and variable between species as would be optimal for the barcode approach. Data are published that would make an MLST approach to isolate identification possible in the most well studied clades of Aspergillus and Penicillium. |
