Aspergillus xishuangbannaensis X. C. Wang, L. Y. Peng & W. Y. Zhuang, 2025

Peng, Lu-Yao, Zhuang, Wen-Ying & Wang, Xin-Cun, 2025, New species of Aspergillus in sections Cavernicolarum and Nigri from terrestrial ecosystems of China (Eurotiales, Aspergillaceae), MycoKeys 124, pp. 275-290 : 275-290

Aspergillus xishuangbannaensis X. C. Wang, L. Y. Peng & W. Y. Zhuang sp. nov.

Fig. 4

Etymology.

The specific epithet refers to the type locality.

In Aspergillus subgenus Circumdati section Nigri series Japonici .

Typification.

China • Yunnan Province, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Mengla County, Menglun Town, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Green Stone Forest , 21°54'39"N, 101°17'00"E, in soil of limestone seasonal rainforest, 28 May 2024, Zhao-Qing Zeng, culture, Xiao Mou, ZYN 05-01 ( holotype HMAS 354081 , ex-type strain CGMCC 3.29152 ) .

DNA barcodes.

ITS PV 883252, BenA PV 877069, CaM PV 877072, RPB 2 PV 877075.

Colony diam.

7 days, 25 ° C (unless stated otherwise): CYA 64–70 mm; CYA 37 ° C 35–57 mm; MEA 55–60 mm; YES 68–70 mm; PDA 66–70 mm.

Colony characters.

CYA 25 ° C, 7 d: Colonies deep, plane, radially sulcate; margins entire; mycelium white; texture velutinous; sporulation moderately dense; conidia en masse dark brown; soluble pigments absent; exudates absent; sclerotia yellow, abundant; reverse yellow brown.

CYA 37 ° C, 7 d: Colonies deep, protuberant, radially sulcate; margins narrow, entire; mycelium white; texture velutinous; sporulation dense; conidia en masse dark brown; soluble pigments absent; exudates tiny; reverse yellow brown to greyish black.

MEA 25 ° C, 7 d: Colonies plane; margins moderately wide, entire; mycelium white; texture velutinous; sporulation dense; conidia en masse blackish brown; soluble pigments absent; exudates absent; sclerotia yellow, abundant; reverse yellow brown.

YES 25 ° C, 7 d: Colonies deep, radially sulcate; margins entire; mycelium white; texture velutinous; sporulation very dense; conidia en masse purplish brown; soluble pigments absent; exudates absent; sclerotia yellow or white; reverse yellow brown.

PDA 25 ° C, 7 d: Colonies plain; margins narrow, entire; mycelium white; texture velutinous; sporulation dense; conidia en masse dark brown; soluble pigments absent; exudates absent; sclerotia yellow; reverse white.

Micromorphology.

Conidial heads radiate; stipes 400–975 × 12–21.5 µm, not septate, walls thick, smooth, hyaline, brownish or black; vesicles 62–80 × 60.5–77.5 µm, globose or subglobose; uniseriate; phialides 6.5–8.5 × 3.5–5.5 µm, flask-shaped and cover the entire surface of the vesicle; conidia 4.5–5.0 × 4.0–5.0 µm, subglobose, echinulate, light brown to dark brown when mature.

Notes.

Aspergillus xishuangbannaensis is molecularly and morphologically differentiated from its closely related sisters: A. japonicus , A. uvarum , and A. indologenus . For the BenA gene, it differs from A. japonicus by 13 bp (97.27 % sequence identity), from A. uvarum by 16 bp (96.26 %), and from A. indologenus by 14 bp (97.06 %); for the CaM region, it differs from A. japonicus by 20 bp (95.97 %), from A. uvarum by 15 bp (96.98 %), and from A. indologenus by 17 bp (96.72 %); and for the RPB 2 fragment, it differs from A. japonicus by five bp (99.50 %), from A. uvarum by 19 bp (98.19 %), and from A. indologenus by seven bp (99.33 %). Although species of this series are similar in gross morphology, the new species can be easily separated from its sisters by much larger vesicles (Table 4 ). Additionally, sclerotia were not observed in A. indologenus , while white to cream sclerotia were often produced by A. japonicus , yellow ones in the new species, and dark brown to black ones in A. uvarum ( Klich 2002; Samson et al. 2007; Perrone et al. 2008; Varga et al. 2011).

Figures

Figure 4. Aspergillus xishuangbannaensis (ZYN 05-01). A. Colonies: top row left to right, obverse CYA, MEA, YES, and PDA; bottom row left to right, reverse CYA, MEA, YES, and PDA; B – F. Conidiophores; G. Conidia. Scale bars: 22.5 µm (B); 20 µm (C – F); 10 µm (G).