Taxonomy and evolution of Aspergillus, Penicillium and Talaromyces in the omics era – Past, present and future

Abstract

Aspergillus, Penicillium and Talaromyces are diverse, phenotypically polythetic genera encompassing species important to the environment, economy, biotechnology and medicine, causing significant social impacts. Taxonomic studies on these fungi are essential since they could provide invaluable information on their evolutionary relationships and define criteria for species recognition. With the advancement of various biological, biochemical and computational technologies, different approaches have been adopted for the taxonomy of Aspergillus, Penicillium and Talaromyces; for example, from traditional morphotyping, phenotyping to chemotyping (e.g. lipotyping, proteotypingand metabolotyping) and then mitogenotyping and/or phylotyping. Since different taxonomic approaches focus on different sets of characters of the organisms, various classification and identification schemes would result. In view of this, the consolidated species concept, which takes into account different types of characters, is recently accepted for taxonomic purposes and, together with the lately implemented ‘One Fungus – One Name’ policy, is expected to bring a more stable taxonomy for Aspergillus, Penicillium and Talaromyces, which could facilitate their evolutionary studies. The most significant taxonomic change for the three genera was the transfer of Penicillium subgenus Biverticillium to Talaromyces (e.g. the medically important thermally dimorphic ‘P. marneffei’ endemic in Southeast Asia is now named T. marneffei), leaving both Penicillium and Talaromyces as monophyletic genera. Several distantly related Aspergillus-like fungi were also segregated from Aspergillus, making this genus, containing members of both sexual and asexual morphs, monophyletic as well. In the current omics era, application of various state-of-the-art omics technologies is likely to provide comprehensive information on the evolution of Aspergillus, Penicillium and Talaromyces and a stable taxonomy will hopefully be achieved.

Granulomatous polyarthritis caused by Talaromyces georgiensis in a dog

“…Some species of Penicillium have been reclassified as Talaromyces because the emphasis in taxonomy has shifted from morphologic features to phylogenetics via DNA sequencing technology. 24 With regard to Penicillium / Talaromyces spp., 3 cases of canine arthritis 25,26,29 and 2 cases of canine osteomyelitis 17,18 have been reported (Table 1). One of those cases was reported as a case of canine arthritis in the right cubital joint caused by a T. helicus infection.…”

Diversity of Filamentous Fungi Isolated From Some Amylase and Alcohol-Producing Starters of India

“…In marcha and khekhrii we detected Aspergillus flavus, which was also reported in mana, an amylolytic starter from Nepal (Nikkuni et al, 1996). Aspergillus belonging to order Eurotials is a phenotypically polythetic genus and is widely distributed in the environment (Tsang et al, 2018). Samson et al (2014) proposed phylogenic identification of Aspergillus with ITS sequence data, and calmodulin as a secondary identification marker, according to the decision of the International Commission of Penicillium and Aspergillus 2 .…”

Fermentative Foods: Microbiology, Biochemistry, Potential Human Health Benefits and Public Health Issues

“…Aspergillus is a phenotypically polythetic genus and is widely distributed in the environment [127], with some of its species having sporulating ability [128]. The latter two abovementioned species are under the light of the scepticism for many researchers.…”