Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #359242
Research Project: Management and Characterization of Agriculturally and Biotechnologically Important Microbial Genetic Resources and Associated Information

Location: Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research

Title: Aspergillus incahuasiensis sp. nov., isolated from soil in the semi-arid region of northern Chile

Author
item PIONTELLI, EDUARDO - Pontifical Catholic University Of Valparaiso
item VIEILLE, PEGGY - Pontifical Catholic University Of Valparaiso
item Peterson, Stephen

Submitted to: International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/2019
Publication Date: 11/1/2019
Citation: Piontelli, E., Vieille, P., Peterson, S.W. 2019. Aspergillus incahuasiensis sp. nov., isolated from soil in the semi-arid region of northern Chile. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 69(11):3350–3355. https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.003361.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.003361

Interpretive Summary: A mold was discovered in the desert of Northern Chile that could not be identified. We determined the DNA sequence from four sites in the genome and compared them to existing sequences. Genetically it was a new species. Using the standard media and growth conditions we formulated a description of the species and named it Aspergillus incahuasiensis. The mold was tested for growth in dry conditions, but it is not unusual in that regard. This information will be of interest to drug discovery companies, mold testing companies and academic mycologists.

Technical Abstract: During a study of the fungi from a semi-arid region of northern Chile, a novel species of Aspergillus was encounter in the soil from an area where pepper trees (Schinus molle) were growing. This species resembled A. venenatus, a species known only from toxic cattle feed in Tennessee, USA. Marker genes were sequenced to verify the identity of these isolates. The ITS, BenA, CaM and RPB2 loci all indicated that this was a novel species in Aspergillus section Nidulantes and in the A. multicolor clade. The new species was studied morphologically and differences between it and the other members of the A. multicolor clade were clear. We provide a name and description for these isolates as Aspergillus incahuasiensis sp. nov.