Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Dawson, Georgia » National Peanut Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #234572
Title: The sexual state of Aspergillus parasiticus

Author
item Horn, Bruce

Submitted to: Mycologia
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/19/2008
Publication Date: 4/17/2009
Citation: Horn, B.W. 2009. The sexual state of Aspergillus parasiticus. Mycologia. 101(2:275-280.

Interpretive Summary: The mold Aspergillus parasiticus is a potent producer of aflatoxins, highly carcinogenic compounds that contaminate various agricultural commodities. In this paper we describe the newly discovered sexual stage of the mold. The sexual stage accounts for much of the variation in A. parasiticus populations in the field and will be an important factor in devising new strategies for controlling aflatoxin contamination.

Technical Abstract: The sexual state of Aspergillus parasiticus, a potent aflatoxin-producing fungus within section Flavi, is described. The production of nonostiolate ascocarps surrounded by a separate peridium within the stroma places the teleomorph in the genus Petromyces. Petromyces parasiticus differs from P. alliaceus by its larger ascospores with finely tuberculate ornamentation. The anamorphic Aspergillus states of the two species differ in conidial head color and microscopic characters.