Aspergillus, its sexual states and the new International Code of Nomenclature

Abstract

The newly adopted International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (ICN) demands that dimorphic fungi, in particular those with both sexual and asexual names, now bear a single name. Although priority is no longer associated with the mode of reproduction, the ICN requires justification for choosing an asexual name over an existing sexual one. The phylogenetic approach that made dual nomenclature for fungi obsolete can be used to help choose names for large groups of fungi that are best known by asexual names. Here we apply this approach to one of the largest and most diverse asexual genera, the genus Aspergillus. We find that existing sexual names may be given to well supported clades of fungi with distinct phenotypes, which include sexual morphology as well as physiological attributes associated with xerophily, thermophily and mycotoxin production. One group of species important to food production and food safety, Aspergillus subgen. Circumdati, lacks a well supported clade; here we propose that the name Aspergillus be retained for this group. Recognizing that nomenclature has economic and social implications, particularly for old, important genera, we discuss the consequences of various scenarios to implement the new ''one name for one fungus'' article in the ICN, showing that our approach requires the fewest appeals to the ICN while retaining the name Aspergillus for many of the most economically and socially important species.

A survey of xerophilic Aspergillus from indoor environment, including descriptions of two new section Aspergillus species producing eurotium-like sexual states

“…In anticipation of this change, reviewed the taxonomy and phylogeny Trichocomaceae, of which Penicillium and Aspergillus are the largest groups, using a four gene combined analysis. The situation with the generic concept and name for Aspergillus is complicated and controversial, partly because of conflicting interpretations of phylogenies, and partly because of differing opinions on how much taxonomic weight to apply to sexual states in generic concepts Pitt and Taylor 2014;Taylor et al 2016). In this paper, we have followed the traditional broad concept of Aspergillus advocated by the International Commission of Penicillium and Aspergillus (ICPA), which includes species formerly classified in the sexual genera Eurotium, Emericella, Neosartorya and Petromyces in Aspergillus.…”

Chemodiversity in the genus Aspergillus

“…With the accepted new nomenclatural system for fungi (one fungus one name) (Hawksworth 2011;Hawksworth et al 2011), there have been discussions whether we should use the genus designation Aspergillus for all species in the monophyletic clade comprising Aspergillus sensu Raper and Fennell (1965), but including further species with different morphologies as dictated by DNA sequences or to use the established names Eurotium, Neosartorya, Emericella etc. for distinct Aspergillus sections, as recommended by Pitt and Taylor (2014). If the latter solution to the nomenclatural problem in Aspergillus sensu Raper and Fennell (1965) was to be adopted, Aspergillus will have to be neo-typified, by for example A. niger (Pitt and Taylor 2014), because Aspergillus at Table 1 Sections of Aspergillus and their associated sexual states Subgenus/section Raper and Fennell (1965) group Earlier name given to the sexual state in the two-name system References on taxonomy, phylogeny and secondary metabolites Circumdati/Nigri Aspergillus niger group Saitoa, now informally saitoa-morph Parenicová et al 2001;Abarca et al 2004;Samson et al 2004;De Vries et al 2005;Serra et al 2006;Perrone et al 2007Perrone et al , 2008Samson et al 2007a, b;Varga et al 2007a;Noonim et al 2008;Nielsen et al 2009;Varga et al 2011a;Meijer et al 2011;…”

Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Fungal Pathogens

“…Now the name can be retained for one species, logically, C. albicans, and the phylogenetically distant species should gain new names that emphasize evolutionary differences. Similar reasoning can be applied to species of Cryptococcus, the name that was applied to all morphologically undistinguished Basidiomycota yeasts, and even Aspergillus, where half-a-dozen clades with distinct sexual morphology as are distant from each other as they are from Penicillium (Pitt and Taylor 2014).…”