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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #337587
Title: Response to Pitt and Taylor 2016: Conservation of Aspergillus with A. niger as the conserved type is unnecessary and potentially disruptive

Author
item SAMSON, ROBERT - Fungal Biodiversity
item HUBKA, VIT - Academy Of Sciences Of The Czech Republic (ASCR)
item VARGA, J - University Of Szeged
item HOUBRAKEN, JOS - Fungal Biodiversity
item HONG, S.-B - National Academy Of Agricultural Science
item PERRONE, G - National Research Council - Italy
item SEIFERT, K - Agriculture And Agri-Food Canada
item VISAGIE, COBUS - University Of Ottawa
item KOCSUBE, S - University Of Szeged
item Peterson, Stephen

Submitted to: Taxon
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/17/2017
Publication Date: 12/1/2017
Citation: Samson, R.A., Hubka, V., Varga, J., Houbraken, J., Hong, S.-B., Klaassen, C.H.W., Perrone, G., Seifert, K.A., Magista, D., Visagie, C.M., Peterson, S.W. et al. 2017. Response to Pitt and Taylor 2016: Conservation of Aspergillus with A. niger as the conserved type is unnecessary and potentially disruptive. Taxon. 66(6):1439-1446. doi: 10.12705/666.10.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12705/666.10

Interpretive Summary: The international body governing naming of molds seeks comments about a proposal to change names. A proposal to change the names of 90% of fungi in the genus Aspergillus was made. We cite the disruption this would cause as a reason to not change the names.

Technical Abstract: Aspergillus is a diverse fungal genus containing many species of great agricultural, biotechnological and medical relevance. Because of the broad use of the genus name in diverse disciplines, and the importance of individual species names in these areas, the taxonomy and nomenclature of Aspergillus should remain stable. A formal proposal to change the generic type from A. glaucus to A. niger was recently published. Here we present arguments against this proposal. We assert that it should be rejected because it will not ensure nomenclatural stability for Aspergillus, and will put the names of several important species, such as A. flavus, A. fumigatus and A. oryzae at risk of being classified in different genera and being lost.