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Aspergillus section Nidulantes encompasses almost 80 homothallic and anamorphic species, mostly isolated from soil, plant material, or the indoor environment. Some species are clinically relevant or produce mycotoxins. This study reevaluated the species boundaries within several clades of section Nidulantes. Five data sets were assembled, each containing presumptive new species and their closest relatives, and phylogenetic and phenotypic analyses were performed. We tested the hypotheses that the newly isolated or reexamined strains constitute separate species (splitting approach) or should be treated as part of broadly defined species (lumping approach). Four DNA sequence loci were amplified, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit (LSU) regions of the rDNA and partial sequences of the β-tubulin (benA), calmodulin (CaM), and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2) genes. The latter three loci were used for the phylogenetic analysis and served as input for single-locus (GMYC, bGMYC, PTP, and bPTP) and multilocus (STACEY and BP&P) species delimitation analyses. The phenotypic analysis comprised macro- and micromorphology (including scanning electron microscopy) and comparison of cardinal growth temperatures. The phylogenetic analysis supported the splitting hypothesis in all cases, and based on the combined approach, we propose six new species, four that are homothallic and two anamorphic. Four new species were isolated from the indoor environment (Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, USA), one originated from soil (Australia), and one from a kangaroo rat cheek pouch (USA).

During a study of the fungi from a semi-arid region of northern Chile, a novel species of Aspergillus was encountered in the soil from an area where pepper trees (Schinusmolle) were growing. Marker genes were sequenced to identify these isolates. The β-tubulin, calmodulin and DNA-dependent RNA polymerase loci all indicated that this was a novel species in Aspergillus section Nidulantes and in the Aspergillus multicolorclade. The new species was studied morphologically and differences between it and the other members of the A. multicolor clade are described. We provide a name and description for these isolates as Aspergillus incahuasiensis sp. nov.

A facultative halo-tolerant Aspergillus strain was isolated from olive brine waste, the effluent from the debittering process of table olives. Phenotypic and molecular characteristics showed clearly that the isolate represents a novel species. Based on the source of isolation, the new species has been named Aspergillus olivimuriae. It was found tolerant to high concentrations of NaCl (15 %) or sucrose (60 %) and it exhibits substantial growth under these conditions. Although the new species grew profusely at 37 °C, no growth was observed at 40 °C, conidia en masse were avellaneous on all media. The description of the new species Aspergillus olivimuriae brings the total species of Aspergillus sect. Flavipedes to 15. The type strain of A. olivimuriae sp. nov. is NRRL 66783 (CCF 6208), its whole genome has been deposited as PRJNA498048.

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Australia, Chaetomella pseudocircinoseta and Coniella pseudodiospyri on Eucalyptus microcorys leaves, Cladophialophora eucalypti, Teratosphaeria dunnii and Vermiculariopsiella dunnii on Eucalyptus dunnii leaves, Cylindrium grande and Hypsotheca eucalyptorum on Eucalyptus grandis leaves, Elsinoe salignae on Eucalyptus saligna leaves, Marasmius lebeliae on litter of regenerating subtropical rainforest, Phialoseptomonium eucalypti (incl. Phialoseptomonium gen. nov.) on Eucalyptus grandis × camaldulensis leaves, Phlogicylindrium pawpawense on Eucalyptus tereticornis leaves, Phyllosticta longicauda as an endophyte from healthy Eustrephus latifolius leaves, Pseudosydowia eucalyptorum on Eucalyptus sp. leaves, Saitozyma wallum on Banksia aemula leaves, Teratosphaeria henryi on Corymbia henryi leaves. Brazil, Aspergillus bezerrae, Backusella azygospora, Mariannaea terricola and Talaromyces pernambucoensis from soil, Calonectria matogrossensis on Eucalyptus urophylla leaves, Calvatia brasiliensis on soil, Carcinomyces nordestinensis on Bromelia antiacantha leaves, Dendryphiella stromaticola on small branches of an unidentified plant, Nigrospora brasiliensis on Nopalea cochenillifera leaves, Penicillium alagoense as a leaf endophyte on a Miconia sp., Podosordaria nigrobrunnea on dung, Spegazzinia bromeliacearum as a leaf endophyte on Tilandsia catimbauensis, Xylobolus brasiliensis on decaying wood. Bulgaria, Kazachstania molopis from the gut of the beetle Molops piceus. Croatia, Mollisia endocrystallina from a fallen decorticated Picea abies tree trunk. Ecuador, Hygrocybe rodomaculata on soil. Hungary, Alfoldia vorosii (incl.Alfoldia gen. nov.) from Juniperus communis roots, Kiskunsagia ubrizsyi (incl. Kiskunsagia gen. nov.) from Fumana procumbens roots. India, Aureobasidium tremulum as laboratory contaminant, Leucosporidium himalayensis and Naganishia indica from windblown dust on glaciers. Italy, Neodevriesia cycadicola on Cycas sp. leaves, Pseudocercospora pseudomyrticola on Myrtus communis leaves, Ramularia pistaciae on Pistacia lentiscus leaves, Neognomoniopsis quercina (incl. Neognomoniopsis gen. nov.) on Quercus ilex leaves. Japan, Diaporthe fructicola on Passiflora edulis × P. edulis f. flavicarpa fruit, Entoloma nipponicum on leaf litter in a mixed Cryptomeria japonica and Acer spp. forest. Macedonia, Astraeus macedonicus on soil. Malaysia, Fusicladium eucalyptigenum on Eucalyptus sp. twigs, Neoacrodontiella eucalypti (incl. Neoacrodontiella gen. nov.) on Eucalyptus urophylla leaves. Mozambique, Meliola gorongosensis on dead Philenoptera violacea leaflets. Nepal, Coniochaeta dendrobiicola from Dendriobium lognicornu roots. New Zealand, Neodevriesia sexualis and Thozetella neonivea on Archontophoenix cunninghamiana leaves. Norway, Calophoma sandfjordenica from a piece of board on a rocky shoreline, Clavaria parvispora on soil, Didymella finnmarkica from a piece of Pinus sylvestris driftwood. Poland, Sugiyamaella trypani from soil. Portugal, Colletotrichum feijoicola from Acca sellowiana. Russia, Crepidotus tobolensis on Populus tremula debris, Entoloma ekaterinae, Entoloma erhardii and Suillus gastroflavus on soil, Nakazawaea ambrosiae from the galleries of Ips typographus under the bark of Picea abies. Slovenia, Pluteus ludwigii on twigs of broadleaved trees. South Africa, Anungitiomyces stellenboschiensis (incl. Anungitiomyces gen. nov.) and Niesslia stellenboschiana on Eucalyptus sp. leaves, Beltraniella pseudoportoricensis on Podocarpus falcatus leaf litter, Corynespora encephalarti on Encephalartos sp. leaves, Cytospora pavettae on Pavetta revoluta leaves, Helminthosporium erythrinicola on Erythrina humeana leaves, Helminthosporium syzygii on a Syzygium sp. barkcanker, Libertasomyces aloeticus on Aloe sp. leaves, Penicillium lunae from Musa sp. fruit, Phyllosticta lauridiae on Lauridia tetragona leaves, Pseudotruncatella bolusanthi (incl. Pseudotruncatellaceae fam. nov.) and Dactylella bolusanthi on Bolusanthus speciosus leaves. Spain, Apenidiella foetida on submerged plant debris, Inocybe grammatoides on Quercus ilex subsp. ilex forest humus, Ossicaulis salomii on soil, Phialemonium guarroi from soil. Thailand, Pantospora chromolaenae on Chromolaena odorata leaves. Ukraine, Cadophora helianthi from Helianthus annuus stems. USA, Boletus pseudopinophilus on soil under slash pine, Botryotrichum foricae, Penicillium americanum and Penicillium minnesotense from air. Vietnam, Lycoperdon vietnamense on soil. Morphological and culture characteristics are supported by DNA barcodes.

Talaromyces strains isolated from maize seeds and the built environment were examined taxonomically because they could not be identified as previously described species. Using phenotypic analysis, DNA sequencing, and phylogenetic and concordance analyses, the authors discovered and described 10 new species in sect. Islandici and 1 new species in sect. Subinflati. Taxonomic novelties in sect. Islandici are Talaromyces delawarensis, T. herodensis, T. juglandicola, T. kilbournensis, T. novojersensis, T. ricevillensis, T. rogersiae, T. siglerae, T. subtropicalis, and T. tiftonensis, and the species from sect. Subinflata is T. tzapotlensis. The isolate of T. siglerae is unusual in Talaromyces because it produced a Sagenomella-like anamorph, but phylogenetic analysis placed it in Talaromyces. Talaromyces rotundus is known from a few isolates, but searches with internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences in GenBank revealed that it is commonly endolichenous with Lasallia hispanica. Talaromyces wortmannii also has a role as an endophyte of the aquatic plant Persicaria amphibia, based on ITS sequence records from GenBank.

Aspergillus section Nidulantes is a speciose group of microscopic fungi whose species are important in indoor air quality, food spoilage, mycotoxin production and human pathogenicity. We assembled as many species from the section as possible with either type specimens or protologues for analysis. DNA sequences were obtained from up to four loci to conduct phylogenetic analysis of sect. Nidulantes and other species in subgenus Nidulantes. Comparisons of phenetic characters were made. Our goal was to recognize monophyletic taxa for section Nidulantes as well as the other taxa in the subgenus. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that sections Versicolores and Aenei formed subclades in the larger clade containing the type species of section Nidulantes. In order to maintain monophyly in section Nidulantes, we synonymized sects. Versicolores and Aenei with sect. Nidulantes. In place of sections, we have identified six subclades in sect. Nidulantes that also have shared phenetic character sets that allow for easier morphological identification of species. Earlier reports showed that standard β-tubulin primers can occasionally amplify the tubC gene rather than the benA gene they were designed for. We show that codon usage analysis can easily distinguish between these paralogues, and we provide primer pair options to allow benA amplifications. Two new sect. Nidulantes species are described from European caves, A. croceus (Spain) and A. askiburgiensis (Czech Republic). The analysis of exometabolites showed that both species are able to produce the mycotoxin sterigmatocystin and some additional compounds.

The objective was to phylogenetically classify diverse strains of Aureobasidium pullulans and determine their production of feruloyl esterase. Seventeen strains from the A. pullulans literature were phylogenetically classified. Phenotypic traits of color variation and endo-β-1,4-xylanase overproduction were associated with phylogenetic clade 10 and particularly clade 8. Literature strains used for pullulan production all belonged to clade 7. These strains and 36 previously classified strains were tested for feruloyl esterase production, which was found to be associated with phylogenetic clades 4, 11, and particularly clade 8. Clade 8 strains NRRL 58552 and NRRL 62041 produced the highest levels of feruloyl esterase among strains tested. Production of both xylanase and feruloyl esterase are associated with A. pullulans strains in phylogenetic clade 8, which is thus a promising source of enzymes with potential biotechnological applications.

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Angola, Gnomoniopsis angolensis and Pseudopithomyces angolensis on unknown host plants. Australia, Dothiora corymbiae on Corymbia citriodora, Neoeucasphaeria eucalypti (incl. Neoeucasphaeria gen. nov.)on Eucalyptus sp., Fumagopsis stellae on Eucalyptus sp., Fusculina eucalyptorum (incl. Fusculinaceae fam. nov.) on Eucalyptus socialis, Harknessia corymbiicola on Corymbia maculata, Neocelosporium eucalypti (incl. Neocelosporium gen. nov., Neocelosporiaceae fam. nov. and Neocelosporiales ord. nov.) on Eucalyptus cyanophylla, Neophaeomoniella corymbiae on Corymbia citriodora, Neophaeomoniella eucalyptigena on Eucalyptus pilularis, Pseudoplagiostoma corymbiicola on Corymbia citriodora, Teratosphaeria gracilis on Eucalyptus gracilis, Zasmidium corymbiae on Corymbia citriodora. Brazil, Calonectria hemileiae on pustules of Hemileia vastatrix formed on leaves of Coffea arabica, Calvatia caatinguensis on soil, Cercospora solani-betacei on Solanum betaceum, Clathrus natalensis on soil, Diaporthe poincianellae on Poincianella pyramidalis, Geastrum piquiriunense on soil, Geosmithia carolliae on wing of Carollia perspicillata, Henningsia resupinata on wood, Penicillium guaibinense from soil, Periconia caespitosa from leaf litter, Pseudocercospora styracina on Styrax sp., Simplicillium filiforme as endophyte from Citrullus lanatus, Thozetella pindobacuensis on leaf litter, Xenosonderhenia coussapoae on Coussapoa floccosa., Canary Islands (Spain), Orbilia amarilla on Euphorbia canariensis. Cape Verde Islands, Xylodon jacobaeus on Eucalyptus camaldulensis. Chile, Colletotrichum arboricola on Fuchsia magellanica. Costa Rica, Lasiosphaeria miniovina ontreebranch. Ecuador, Ganoderma chocoense ontreetrunk. France, Neofitzroyomyces nerii (incl. Neofitzroyomyces gen. nov.) on Nerium oleander. Ghana, Castanediella tereticornis on Eucalyptus tereticornis, Falcocladium africanum on Eucalyptus brassiana, Rachicladosporium corymbiae on Corymbia citriodora. Hungary, Entoloma silvae-frondosae in Carpinus betulus-Pinus sylvestris mixedforest. Iran, Pseudopyricularia persiana on Cyperus sp. Italy, Inocybe roseascens onsoilinmixedforest. Laos, Ophiocordyceps houaynhangensis on Coleoptera larva. Malaysia, Monilochaetes melastomae on Melastoma sp. Mexico, Absidia terrestris fromsoil. Netherlands, Acaulium pannemaniae, Conioscypha boutwelliae, Fusicolla septimanifiniscientiae, Gibellulopsis simonii, Lasionectria hilhorstii, Lectera nordwiniana, Leptodiscella rintelii, Parasarocladium debruynii and Sarocladium dejongiae (incl. Sarocladiaceae fam. nov.) fromsoil. New Zealand, Gnomoniopsis rosae on Rosa sp. and Neodevriesia metrosideri on Metrosideros sp. Puerto Rico, Neodevriesia coccolobae on Coccoloba uvifera, Neodevriesia tabebuiae and Alfaria tabebuiae on Tabebuia chrysantha . Russia, Amanita paludosa on bogged soil in mixed deciduous forest, Entoloma tiliae in forest of Tilia × europaea, Kwoniella endophytica on Pyrus communis., South Africa, Coniella diospyri on Diospyros mespiliformis, Neomelanconiella combreti (incl. Neomelanconiellaceae fam. nov. and Neomelanconiella gen. nov.)on Combretum sp., Polyphialoseptoria natalensis on unidentified plant host, Pseudorobillarda bolusanthi on Bolusanthus speciosus, Thelonectria pelargonii on Pelargonium sp. Spain, Vermiculariopsiella lauracearum and Anungitopsis lauri on Laurus novocanariensis, Geosmithia xerotolerans from a darkened wall of a house, Pseudopenidiella gallaica on leaf litter. Thailand, Corynespora thailandica on wood, Lareunionomyces loeiensis on leaf litter, Neocochlearomyces chromolaenae (incl. Neocochlearomyces gen. nov.) on Chromolaena odorata, Neomyrmecridium septatum (incl. Neomyrmecridium gen. nov .), Pararamichloridium caricicola on Carex sp., Xenodactylaria thailandica (incl. Xenodactylariaceae fam. nov. and Xenodactylaria gen. nov.), Neomyrmecridium asiaticum and Cymostachys thailandica fromunidentifiedvine. USA, Carolinigaster bonitoi (incl. Carolinigaster gen. nov.)fromsoil, Penicillium fortuitum from house dust, Phaeotheca shathenatiana (incl. Phaeothecaceae fam. nov.) from twig and cone litter, Pythium wohlseniorum from stream water, Superstratomyces tardicrescens from human eye, Talaromyces iowaense from officeair. Vietnam, Fistulinella olivaceoalba onsoil. Morphological and culture characteristics along with DNA barcodes are provided Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Angola, Gnomoniopsis angolensis and Pseudopithomyces angolensis on unknown host plants. Australia, Dothiora corymbiae on Corymbia citriodora, Neoeucasphaeria eucalypti (incl. Neoeucasphaeria gen. nov.)on Eucalyptus sp., Fumagopsis stellae on Eucalyptus sp., Fusculina eucalyptorum (incl. Fusculinaceae fam. nov.) on Eucalyptus socialis, Harknessia corymbiicola on Corymbia maculata, Neocelosporium eucalypti (incl. Neocelosporium gen. nov., Neocelosporiaceae fam. nov. and Neocelosporiales ord. nov.) on Eucalyptus cyanophylla, Neophaeomoniella corymbiae on Corymbia citriodora, Neophaeomoniella eucalyptigena on Eucalyptus pilularis, Pseudoplagiostoma corymbiicola on Corymbia citriodora, Teratosphaeria gracilis on Eucalyptus gracilis, Zasmidium corymbiae on Corymbia citriodora. Brazil, Calonectria hemileiae on pustules of Hemileia vastatrix formed on leaves of Coffea arabica, Calvatia caatinguensis on soil, Cercospora solani-betacei on Solanum betaceum, Clathrus natalensis on soil, Diaporthe poincianellae on Poincianella pyramidalis, Geastrum piquiriunense on soil, Geosmithia carolliae on wing of Carollia perspicillata, Henningsia resupinata on wood, Penicillium guaibinense from soil, Periconia caespitosa from leaf litter, Pseudocercospora styracina on Styrax sp., Simplicillium filiforme as endophyte from Citrullus lanatus, Thozetella pindobacuensis on leaf litter, Xenosonderhenia coussapoae on Coussapoa floccosa., Canary Islands (Spain), Orbilia amarilla on Euphorbia canariensis. Cape Verde Islands, Xylodon jacobaeus on Eucalyptus camaldulensis. Chile, Colletotrichum arboricola on Fuchsia magellanica. Costa Rica, Lasiosphaeria miniovina ontreebranch. Ecuador, Ganoderma chocoense ontreetrunk. France, Neofitzroyomyces nerii (incl. Neofitzroyomyces gen. nov.) on Nerium oleander. Ghana, Castanediella tereticornis on Eucalyptus tereticornis, Falcocladium africanum on Eucalyptus brassiana, Rachicladosporium corymbiae on Corymbia citriodora. Hungary, Entoloma silvae-frondosae in Carpinus betulus-Pinus sylvestris mixedforest. Iran, Pseudopyricularia persiana on Cyperus sp. Italy, Inocybe roseascens onsoilinmixedforest. Laos, Ophiocordyceps houaynhangensis on Coleoptera larva. Malaysia, Monilochaetes melastomae on Melastoma sp. Mexico, Absidia terrestris fromsoil. Netherlands, Acaulium pannemaniae, Conioscypha boutwelliae, Fusicolla septimanifiniscientiae, Gibellulopsis simonii, Lasionectria hilhorstii, Lectera nordwiniana, Leptodiscella rintelii, Parasarocladium debruynii and Sarocladium dejongiae (incl. Sarocladiaceae fam. nov.) fromsoil. New Zealand, Gnomoniopsis rosae on Rosa sp. and Neodevriesia metrosideri on Metrosideros sp. Puerto Rico, Neodevriesia coccolobae on Coccoloba uvifera, Neodevriesia tabebuiae and Alfaria tabebuiae on Tabebuia chrysantha., Russia, Amanita paludosa on bogged soil in mixed deciduous forest, Entoloma tiliae in forest of Tilia × europaea, Kwoniella endophytica on Pyrus communis. South Africa, Coniella diospyri on Diospyros mespiliformis, Neomelanconiella combreti (incl. Neomelanconiellaceae fam. nov. and Neomelanconiella gen. nov.)on Combretum sp., Polyphialoseptoria natalensis on unidentified plant host, Pseudorobillarda bolusanthi on Bolusanthus speciosus, Thelonectria pelargonii on Pelargonium sp. Spain, Vermiculariopsiella lauracearum and Anungitopsis lauri on Laurus novocanariensis, Geosmithia xerotolerans from a darkened wall of a house, Pseudopenidiella gallaica on leaf litter. Thailand, Corynespora thailandica on wood, Lareunionomyces loeiensis on leaf litter, Neocochlearomyces chromolaenae (incl. Neocochlearomyces gen. nov.) on Chromolaena odorata, Neomyrmecridium septatum (incl. Neomyrmecridium gen. nov .), Pararamichloridium caricicola on Carex sp., Xenodactylaria thailandica (incl. Xenodactylariaceae fam. nov. and Xenodactylaria gen. nov.), Neomyrmecridium asiaticum and Cymostachys thailandica fromunidentifiedvine. USA, Carolinigaster bonitoi (incl. Carolinigaster gen. nov.)fromsoil, Penicillium fortuitum from house dust, Phaeotheca shathenatiana (incl. Phaeothecaceae fam. nov.) from twig and cone litter, Pythium wohlseniorum from stream water, Superstratomyces tardicrescens from human eye, Talaromyces iowaense from officeair. Vietnam, Fistulinella olivaceoalba onsoil. Morphological and culture characteristics along with DNA barcodes are provided., Tatiana M. Bulyonkova and colleagues are grateful to Dr Rodham Tulloss for his patient guidance and help, and to Dr Torbjørn Borgen Lindhardt for his invaluable advice. Thays G.L. Oliveira, Maria T.C. Felipe, Jadson D.P. Bezerra and Oliane M. C. Magalhães acknowledge financial support and/or scholarships from the CAPES (Finance Code 001), CNPq and FACEPE. Aline O.B. da Cunha, Alexandre R. Machado, Eder Barbier, Enrico Bernard and Cristina M. Souza-Motta acknowledge financial support and/or scholarships from the CAPES (Finance Code 001), CNPq, FACEPE, CECAV and ICMBio from Brazil. Rejane M.F. da Silva and colleagues express their gratitude to the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for a scholarship to Rejane M.F. da Silva and to the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for a research fellowships and/or financial support to Gladstone A. da Silva, Cristina M. Souza-Motta, José L. Bezerra and Rafael J.V. de Oliveira (Processes 458622/2014-1 and 312186/2016-9). Olinto L. Pereira, Vanessa P. Abreu, Jackeline P. Andrade and colleagues would like to thank the CNPq, CAPES and FAPEMIG for financial support. The study of Olga V. Morozova was carried out within the framework of a research project of the Komarov Botanical Institute RAS ‘Herbarium funds of the BIN RAS’ (АААА-А18-118022090078-2) with the support of the molecular work by the Russian Foundation for the Basic Research (project no. 15-29-02622). Anna M. Glushakova and Aleksey V. Kachalkin were supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR), project no. 16-04-00624a. Janet Jennifer Luangsa-ard and colleagues were supported by ‘The Promotion Project on Science, Technology and Innovation Collaboration with ASEAN Member Countries under the Office of International Cooperation, MOSTThailand’. They would also like to thank Ms Duangkaew Chongkachornphong, Ms Papawee Nupason (International Cooperation Section, BIOTEC) and Ms Bakeo Souvannalath (Director of Biotechnology Division, Biotechnology and Ecology Institute, BEI) for their kind cooperation. Javier Fernández-López and colleagues are grateful to Marian Glenn for checking the text, and were supported by DGICT projects CGL2012-35559 and CGL2015-67459-P., Javier Fernández-López was also supported by Predoctoral Grants (BES- 2013-066429) from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain). Maria E. Ordoñez and colleagues acknowledge Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador for financial support for project M13415. Taimy Cantillo is thankful to PEC-PG/CAPES for the PhD grant (proc. 12636134/2014) (Finance Code 001) and to the International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT) for the Research Grant. Luis F.P. Gusmão is grateful to CNPq for Grant support (Proc. 303062/2014-2). Hugo Madrid was partially funded by Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICYT), Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (FONDECYT), Chile, project no. 11140562. Tor Erik Brandrud, Bálint Dima, Machiel E. Noordeloos and Egil Bendiksen thank the financial support of the Norwegian Taxonomy Initiative, with funding from the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre (NBIC), The Austrian Entoloma material (by Irmgard Krisai-Greilhuber) was sequenced within ABOL, subproject HRSFM University of Vienna, supported by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. Adriene M. Soares and colleagues would like to thank the Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio) and the Instituto Brasileiro de Meio Ambiente (IBAMA) for support during field trips and R.L.M. Alvarenga for the figures. They also acknowledge CAPES for the Ph.D. scholarship of Adriene M. Soares, and CNPq (307601/2015-3), CAPES (CAPES-SIU 008/13), and FACEPE (APQ-0375-2.03/15) for financial support. Angus J. Carnegie acknowledges support from the Forestry Corporation of NSW, and David Sargeant for assistance with site photos. Adel Pordel and colleagues thank the University of Tehran for financial support. Luis Quijada acknowledges support from ‘Fundación Ramón Areces’. Robert W. Barreto and colleagues thank the World Coffee Research/Texas Agrilife for financial support, as well as the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). Sara Salcedo-Sarmiento was supported by the ‘Programa de Estudante-Convênio de Pós-Graduação’ (PEC-PG) from CAPES. The research of Cobus M. Visagie and Keith A. Seifert was supported by grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Program on the Microbiology of the Built Environment. Blaise A. Darvaux acknowledges Keith A. Seifert for help with identification, Nicholas Mauriello for validating the Latin name, Mauricia Lawrence and Meagan Tillotson for help with material preparation. We are grateful to Gavin Phillips, Seed Bank Officer, Australian Botanic Garden, Mt Annan for field assistance and identification of plant species collected in New South Wales, Australia. Collection of specimens from Mungo National Park was supported by the ABRS Bush Blitz program, a partnership between the Australian Government, BHP and Earthwatch Australia. The National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project is acknowledged for assistance and funding to J. Roux for material collected in Angola.

Aspergillus section Flavipedes contains species found worldwide in soils and rhizospheres, indoor and cave environments, as endophytes, food contaminants and occasionally as human pathogens. They produce many extensively studied bioactive secondary metabolites and biotechnologically relevant enzymes. The taxa were revised based on phylogenetic analysis of sequences from four loci (β-tubulin, calmodulin, RPB2, ITS rDNA), two PCR fingerprinting methods, micro- and macromorphology and physiology. Section Flavipedes includes three known and seven new species: A. ardalensis, A. frequens, A. luppii, A. mangaliensis, A. movilensis, A. polyporicola and A. spelaeus. The name A. neoflavipes was proposed for Fennellia flavipes a distinct species from its supposed asexual state A. flavipes. Aspergillus iizukae, A. frequens and A. mangaliensis are the most common and widely distributed species, whereas A. flavipes s. str. is rare. A dichotomous key based on the combination of morphology and physiology is provided for all recognized species. Aspergillus section Jani is established to contain A. janus and A. brevijanus, species previously classified as members of sect. Versicolores, Terrei or Flavipedes. This new section is strongly supported by phylogenetic data and morphology. Section Jani species produce three types of conidiophores and conidia, and colonies have green and white sectors making them distinctive. Accessory conidia found in pathogenic A. terreus were found in all members of sects. Flavipedes and Jani. Our data indicated that A. frequens is a clinically relevant and produces accessory conidia during infection.

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Antarctica: Cadophora antarctica from soil. Australia: Alfaria dandenongensis on Cyperaceae, Amphosoma persooniae on Persoonia sp., Anungitea nullicana on Eucalyptus sp., Bagadiella eucalypti on Eucalyptus globulus, Castanediella eucalyptigena on Eucalyptus sp., Cercospora dianellicola on Dianella sp., Cladoriella kinglakensis on Eucalyptus regnans, Cladoriella xanthorrhoeae (incl. Cladoriellaceae fam. nov. and Cladoriellales ord. nov.) on Xanthorrhoea sp., Cochlearomyces eucalypti (incl. Cochlearomyces gen. nov. and Cochlearomycetaceae fam. nov.) on Eucalyptus obliqua, Codinaea lambertiae on Lambertia formosa, Diaporthe obtusifoliae on Acacia obtusifolia, Didymella acaciae on Acacia melanoxylon, Dothidea eucalypti on Eucalyptus dalrympleana, Fitzroyomyces cyperi (incl. Fitzroyomyces gen. nov.) on Cyperaceae, Murramarangomyces corymbiae (incl. Murramarangomyces gen. nov., Murramarangomycetaceae fam. nov. and Murramarangomycetales ord. nov.) on Corymbia maculata, Neoanungitea eucalypti (incl. Neoanungitea gen. nov.) on Eucalyptus obliqua, Neoconiothyrium persooniae (incl. Neoconiothyrium gen. nov.) on Persoonia laurina subsp. laurina, Neocrinula lambertiae (incl. Neocrinulaceae fam. nov.) on Lambertia sp., Ochroconis podocarpi on Podocarpus grayae, Paraphysalospora eucalypti (incl. Paraphysalospora gen. nov.) on Eucalyptus sieberi, Pararamichloridium livistonae (incl. Pararamichloridium gen. nov., Pararamichloridiaceae fam. nov. and Pararamichloridiales ord. nov.) on Livistona sp., Pestalotiopsis dianellae on Dianella sp., Phaeosphaeria gahniae on Gahnia aspera, Phlogicylindrium tereticornis on Eucalyptus tereticornis, Pleopassalora acaciae on Acacia obliquinervia, Pseudodactylaria xanthorrhoeae (incl. Pseudodactylaria gen. nov., Pseudodactylariaceae fam. nov. and Pseudodactylariales ord. nov.) on Xanthorrhoea sp., Pseudosporidesmium lambertiae (incl. Pseudosporidesmiaceae fam. nov.) on Lambertia formosa, Saccharata acaciae on Acacia sp., Saccharata epacridis on Epacris sp., Saccharata hakeigena on Hakea sericea, Seiridium persooniae on Persoonia sp., Semifissispora tooloomensis on Eucalyptus dunnii, Stagonospora lomandrae on Lomandra longifolia, Stagonospora victoriana on Poaceae, Subramaniomyces podocarpi on Podocarpus elatus, Sympoventuria melaleucae on Melaleuca sp., Sympoventuria regnans on Eucalyptus regnans, Trichomerium eucalypti on Eucalyptus tereticornis, Vermiculariopsiella eucalypticola on Eucalyptus dalrympleana, Verrucoconiothyrium acaciae on Acacia falciformis, Xenopassalora petrophiles (incl. Xenopassalora gen. nov.) on Petrophile sp., Zasmidium dasypogonis on Dasypogon sp., Zasmidium gahniicola on Gahnia sieberiana., Brazil: Achaetomium lippiae on Lippia gracilis, Cyathus isometricus on decaying wood, Geastrum caririense on soil, Lycoperdon demoulinii (incl. Lycoperdon subg. Arenicola) on soil, Megatomentella cristata (incl. Megatomentella gen. nov.) on unidentified plant, Mutinus verrucosus on soil, Paraopeba schefflerae (incl. Paraopeba gen. nov.) on Schefflera morototoni, Phyllosticta catimbauensis on Mandevilla catimbauensis, Pseudocercospora angularis on Prunus persica, Pseudophialophora sorghi on Sorghum bicolor, Spumula piptadeniae on Piptadenia paniculata. Bulgaria: Yarrowia parophonii from gut of Parophonus hirsutulus. Croatia: Pyrenopeziza velebitica on Lonicera borbasiana. Cyprus: Peziza halophila on coastal dunes Czech Republic: Aspergillus contaminans from human fingernail. Ecuador: Cuphophyllus yacurensis on forest soil, Ganoderma podocarpense on fallen tree trunk. England: Pilidium anglicum (incl. Chaetomellales ord. nov.) on Eucalyptus sp. France: Planamyces parisiensis (incl. Planamyces gen. nov.) on wood inside a house. French Guiana: Lactifluus ceraceus on soil. Germany: Talaromyces musae on Musa sp. India: Hyalocladosporiella cannae on Canna indica, Nothophoma raii from soil. Italy: Setophaeosphaeria citri on Citrus reticulata, Yuccamyces citri on Citrus limon. Japan: Glutinomyces brunneus (incl. Glutinomyces gen. nov.) from roots of Quercus sp. Netherlands (all from soil): Collariella hilkhuijsenii, Fusarium petersiae, Gamsia kooimaniorum, Paracremonium binnewijzendii, Phaeoisaria annesophieae, Plectosphaerella niemeijerarum, Striaticonidium deklijnearum, Talaromyces annesophieae, Umbelopsis wiegerinckiae, Vandijckella johannae (incl. Vandijckella gen. nov. and Vandijckellaceae fam. nov.), Verhulstia trisororum (incl. Verhulstia gen. nov.). New Zealand: Lasiosphaeria similisorbina on decorticated wood. Papua New Guinea: Pseudosubramaniomyces gen. nov. (based on Pseudosubramaniomyces fusisaprophyticus comb. nov.). Slovakia: Hemileucoglossum pusillum on soil. South Africa: Tygervalleyomyces podocarpi (incl. Tygervalleyomyces gen. nov.) on Podocarpus falcatus. Spain: Coniella heterospora from herbivorous dung, Hymenochaete macrochloae on Macrochloa tenacissima, Ramaria cistophila on shrubland of Cistus ladanifer. Thailand: Polycephalomyces phaothaiensis on Coleoptera larvae, buried in soil. Uruguay: Penicillium uruguayense from soil. Vietnam: Entoloma nigrovelutinum on forest soil, Volvariella morozovae on wood of unknown tree. Morphological and culture characteristics along with DNA barcodes are provided., The research of Vit Hubka was supported through the project BIOCEV (CZ.1.05/1.1.00/02.0109) provided by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of CR and ERDF. Maria E. Ordoñez and colleagues obtained financial support from the Secretaria de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación del Ecuador (SENESCYT), Arca de Noé Initiative. Olinto L. Pereira would like to thank the CNPq, CAPES and FAPEMIG for the financial support. Jadson D.P. Bezerra and colleagues thank CAPES, CNPq and FACEPE from Brazil for financial support and scholarships. Rafael J.V. Oliveira and colleagues express their gratitude to the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for a scholarship to R.J.V. Oliveira and grant to J.L. Bezerra. Donis S. Alfredo and Luri G. Baseia would like to thank the Brazilian agency CAPES for providing Ph.D. scholarships and CNPq, for providing the financial support of the Projeto Pesquisador Visitante Especial (PVE-407474/2013-7). Alina V. Alexandrova acknowledges financial support from the Russian Science Foundation (project N 14-50-00029). Financial support for Olga V. Morozova and Ekaterina F. Malysheva was provided in the framework of an institutional research project of the Komarov Botanical Institute RAS (N 01201255603) and the Russian Foundation for the Basic Research (project 15-04-04645a). Lynn Delgat was funded by a doctoral scholarship of the Special Research Fund (BOF), and together with Annemieke Verbeken and Mélanie Roy would like to thank Labex CEBA ANR-10-LABX-25-01 and Reserve Naturelle La Trinité. Tiara S. Cabral and colleagues acknowledge Charles R. Clement for the English revision of the text, and for coordinating financial support., Rohit Sharma and colleagues thank the Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi for financial support for the establishment of National Centre for Microbial Resource (NCMR), Pune wide grant letter no. BT/Coord.II/01/03/2016 dated 6 April 2017 and the MycoBank team for nomenclatural corrections. Dilnora E. Gouliamova was financed by the Bulgarian Science Fund (project TK-176) and by a fellowship from Wallonie – Bruxelles International agency of the French Community of Belgium. Neven Matočec and colleagues express their gratitude to Public Institution Northern Velebit National Park for providing financial support. We are thankful to P. Evrard from Mycothèque de l‘Université Catholique de Louvain who obtained fermentation and assimilation profiles of the studied strains. Financial support from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project 16-34-00510 mol_a) is acknowledged to Anna G. Fedosova, and a grant from VEGA (project 2/0008/15) to Viktor Kučera. We would also like to thank Prof. Morakot Tanticharoen for her support of the program Biodiversity studies of entomopathogenic fungi in Thailand. This study was supported by the National Science and Technology Development Agency, Cluster and Program Management Office (Grant no. P15-51544).

We describe the first reported case of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) attributed to Neosartorya udagawae infection. This mold grew rapidly in cultures of multiple respiratory specimens from a previously healthy 43-year-old woman. Neosartorya spp. are a recently recognized cause of invasive disease in immunocompromised patients that can be mistaken for their sexual teleomorph, Aspergillus fumigatus. Because the cultures were sterile, phenotypic identification was not possible. DNA sequencing of ITS, calmodulin and β-tubulin genes supported identification of Neosartorya udagawae. Our case is the first report of ARDS associated with Neosartorya sp. infection and defines a new clinical entity.

The identity of nine clinical isolates recovered from Czech patients and presumptively identified as Aspergillus sp. section Candidi based on colony morphology was revised using sequences of β-tubulin, calmodulin gene sequence, and internal transcribed spacer rDNA. Six isolates were from suspected and proven onychomycosis, one from otitis externa, and two associated with probable invasive aspergillosis. The results showed that one Aspergillus candidus isolate was the cause of otitis externa, and both isolates obtained from sputa of patients with probable invasive aspergillosis were reidentified as A. carneus (sect. Terrei) and A. flavus (sect. Flavi). Three isolates from nail scrapings were identified as A. tritici, a verified agent of nondermatophyte onychomycosis. One isolate from toenail was determined to be A. candidus and the two isolates belonged to a hitherto undescribed species, Aspergillus pragensis sp. nov. This species is well supported by phylogenetic analysis based on β-tubulin and calmodulin gene and is distinguishable from other members of sect. Candidi by red-brown reverse on malt extract agar, slow growth on Czapek-Dox agar and inability to grow at 37°C. A secondary metabolite analysis was also provided with comparison of metabolite spectrum to other species. Section Candidi now encompasses five species for which a dichotomous key based on colony characteristics is provided. All clinical isolates were tested for susceptibilities to selected antifungal agents using the Etest and disc diffusion method. Overall sect. Candidi members are highly susceptible to common antifungals.

Secondary metabolite phenotypes in nine species of the Hamigera clade were analysed to assess their correlations to a multi-gene species-level phylogeny. High-pressure-liquid-chromatography-based chemical analysis revealed three distinctive patterns of secondary metabolite production: (1) the nine species could be divided into two groups on the basis of production of the sesquiterpene tricinonoic acid; (2) the tricinonoic acid-producing group produced two cyclic peptides avellanins A and B; (3) the tricinonoic acid-non-producing group could be further divided into two groups according to the production of avellanins A and B. The chemical phenotype was consistent with the phylogeny of the species, although metabolite patterns were not diagnostic at the species level. In addition, the taxonomy of the Hamigera clade was updated with the new combination Hamigera ingelheimensis proposed for Merimbla ingelheimensis, so that all species in the clade are now in the same genus.

Nine recently described Aspergillus species and four known species in section Versicolores were tested for their ability to produce sterigmatocystin on two liquid media, Czapek w/20% Sucrose Broth and Yeast Extract Broth grown in the dark for 1 week at 25 °C. Detection and quantification of ST were performed by reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization ion trap mass spectrometry. Limit of detection was 3 ng/mL and limit of quantification was 10 ng/mL. Nine newly described Aspergillus species from various substrates, A. amoenus, A. creber, A. cvjetkovicii, A. fructus, A. jensenii, A. puulaauensis, A. subversicolor, A. tennesseensis and A. venenatus in section Versicolores were found to produce sterigmatocystin. Production was confirmed in recently collected isolates of A. protuberus and A. versicolor. A. austroafricanus and A. tabacinus did not produce sterigmatocystin.

Aureobasidium thailandense sp. nov. is described from cultures of material collected on leaves and wooden surfaces in Thailand and the type isolate is NRRL 58539T. Phylogenetically it is distinct from other species of the genus Aureobasidium. Phenotypically it is distinguished by its cardinal growth temperatures, salt tolerance and production of reddish brown hyphal pigmentation in PDA cultures, but micro-morphologically it is not clearly distinguishable from Aureobasidium pullulans. Unlike A. pullulans, A. thailandense sp. nov. produces a non-pullulan extracellular polysaccharide whose characteristics are unknown. The two known isolates of A. thailandense sp. nov. possess an approx. 500 bp type I intron in the 18S rRNA gene that is present in ITS amplifications using primers ITS4 and ITS5. A. pullulans isolates uniformly lack this intron.

Polymerase chain reaction amplification of conserved genes and sequence analysis provides a very powerful tool for the identification of toxigenic as well as non-toxigenic Penicillium species. Sequences are obtained by amplification of the gene fragment, sequencing via capillary electrophoresis of dideoxynucleotide-labeled fragments or NGS. The sequences are compared to a database of validated isolates. Identification of species indicates the potential of the fungus to make particular mycotoxins.

Polymerase chain reaction amplification of conserved genes and sequence analysis provides a very powerful tool for the identification of toxigenic as well as non-toxigenic Penicillium species. Sequences are obtained by amplification of the gene fragment, sequencing via capillary electrophoresis of dideoxynucleotide labeled fragments or NGS. The sequences are compared to a database of validated isolates. Identification of species indicates the potential of the fungus to make particular mycotoxins.

A multilocus phylogenetic study was carried out to assess species identity of a set of 34 clinical isolates from Aspergillus section Circumdati from the United States and to determine their in vitro antifungal susceptibility against eight antifungal drugs. The genetic markers used were the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, and fragments of the beta-tubulin ( BenA ), calmodulin ( CaM ), and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit ( RPB2 ) genes. The drugs tested were amphotericin B, itraconazole, posaconazole, voriconazole, anidulafungin, caspofungin, micafungin, and terbinafine. The most common species sampled was A. westerdijkiae (29.4%), followed by a novel species, which was described here as A. pseudosclerotiorum (23.5%). Other species identified were A. sclerotiorum (17.6%), A. ochraceus (8.8%), A. subramanianii (8.8%), and A. insulicola and A. ochraceopetaliformis , with two isolates (5.9%) of each. The drugs that showed the most potent activity were caspofungin, micafungin, and terbinafine, while amphotericin B showed the least activity.

In sampling fungi from the built environment, two isolates that could not confidently be placed in described species were encountered. Phenotypic analysis suggested that they belonged in Aspergillus sect. Usti. In order to verify the sectional placement and to assure that they were undescribed rather than phenotypically aberrant isolates, DNA was isolated and sequenced at the beta-tubulin, calmodulin, internal transcribed spacer and RNA polymerase II loci and sequences compared with those from other species in the genus Aspergillus. At each locus, each new isolate was distant from existing species. Phylogenetic trees calculated from these data and GenBank data for species of the section Usti excluded the placement of these isolates in existing species, with statistical support. Because they were excluded from existing taxa, the distinct species Aspergillus asper (type strain NRRL 35910T) and Aspergillus collinsii (type strain NRRL 66196T) in sect. Usti are proposed to accommodate these strains.

Three amino acid-derived compounds, haenamindole (1) and 2'-epi-fumiquinazolines C (2) and D (3), were isolated from cultures of a fungicolous isolate of Penicillium lanosum (MYC-1813=NRRL 66231). Compound 1 was also encountered in cultures of P. corylophilum (MYC-418=NRRL 28126). Structure elucidation of these metabolites was based mainly on high resolution mass spectrometry and NMR data analysis. Haenamindole (1) was found to be a recently reported diketopiperazine-type metabolite that incorporates an unusual β-Phe unit. Analysis of X-ray crystallographic data and the products of acid hydrolysis of 1 enabled a conclusive, slightly modified stereochemical assignment for haenamindole. Fumiquinazoline analog 2 is a new natural product, while related compound 3 has been previously reported only as a product of an in vitro enzymatic step and of a genetically engineered fungal culture. Compounds 1 and 3 showed antiinsectan activity against the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda.

International audience; Novel species of fungi described in the present study include the following from Australia: Vermiculariopsiella eucalypti, Mulderomyces natalis (incl. Mulderomyces gen. nov.), Fusicladium paraamoenum, Neotrimmatostroma paraexcentricum, and Pseudophloeospora eucalyptorum on leaves of Eucalyptus spp., Anungitea grevilleae (on leaves of Grevillea sp.), Pyrenochaeta acaciae (on leaves of Acacia sp.), and Brunneocarpos banksiae (incl. Brunneocarpos gen. nov.) on cones of Banksia attenuata. Novel foliicolous taxa from South Africa include Neosulcatispora strelitziae (on Strelitzia nicolai), Colletotrichum ledebouriae (on Ledebouria floridunda), Cylindrosympodioides brabejum (incl. Cylindrosympodioides gen. nov.) on Brabejum stellatifolium, Sclerostagonospora ericae (on Erica sp.), Setophoma cyperi (on Cyperus sphaerocephala), and Phaeosphaeria breonadiae (on Breonadia microcephala). Novelties described from Robben Island (South Africa) include Wojnowiciella cissampeli and Diaporthe cissampeli (both on Cissampelos capensis), Phaeotheca salicorniae (on Salicornia meyeriana), Paracylindrocarpon aloicola (incl. Paracylindrocarpon gen. nov.) on Aloe sp., and Libertasomyces myopori (incl. Libertasomyces gen. nov.) on Myoporum serratum. Several novelties are recorded from La Réunion (France), namely Phaeosphaeriopsis agapanthi (on Agapanthus sp.), Roussoella solani (on Solanum mauritianum), Vermiculariopsiella acaciae (on Acacia heterophylla), Dothiorella acacicola (on Acacia mearnsii), Chalara clidemiae (on Clidemia hirta), Cytospora tibouchinae (on Tibouchina semidecandra), Diaporthe ocoteae (on Ocotea obtusata), Castanediella eucalypticola, Phaeophleospora eucalypticola and Fusicladium eucalypticola (on Eucalyptus robusta), Lareunionomyces syzygii (incl. Lareunionomyces gen. nov.) and Parawiesneriomyces syzygii (incl. Parawiesneriomyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Syzygium jambos. Novel taxa from the USA include Meristemomyces arctostaphylos (on Arctostaphylos patula), Ochroconis dracaenae (on Dracaena reflexa), Rasamsonia columbiensis (air of a hotel conference room), Paecilomyces tabacinus (on Nicotiana tabacum), Toxicocladosporium hominis (from human broncoalveolar lavage fluid), Nothophoma macrospora (from respiratory secretion of a patient with pneumonia), and Penidiellopsis radicularis (incl. Penidiellopsis gen. nov.) from a human nail. Novel taxa described from Malaysia include Prosopidicola albizziae (on Albizzia falcataria), Proxipyricularia asari (on Asarum sp.), Diaporthe passifloricola (on Passiflora foetida), Paramycoleptodiscus albizziae (incl. Paramycoleptodiscus gen. nov.) on Albizzia falcataria, and Malaysiasca phaii (incl. Malaysiasca gen. nov.) on Phaius reflexipetalus. Two species are newly described from human patients in the Czech Republic, namely Microascus longicollis (from toenails of patient with suspected onychomycosis), and Chrysosporium echinulatum (from sole skin of patient). Furthermore, Alternaria quercicola is described on leaves of Quercus brantii (Iran), Stemphylium beticola on leaves of Beta vulgaris (The Netherlands), Scleroderma capeverdeanum on soil (Cape Verde Islands), Scleroderma dunensis on soil, and Blastobotrys meliponae from bee honey (Brazil), Ganoderma mbrekobenum on angiosperms (Ghana), Geoglossum raitviirii and Entoloma kruticianum on soil (Russia), Priceomyces vitoshaensis on Pterostichus melas (Carabidae) (Bulgaria) is the only one for which the family is listed, Ganoderma ecuadoriense on decaying wood (Ecuador), Thyrostroma cornicola on Cornus officinalis (Korea), Cercophora vinosa on decorticated branch of Salix sp. (France), Coprinus pinetorum, Coprinus littoralis and Xerocomellus poederi on soil (Spain). Two new genera from Colombia include Helminthosporiella and Uwemyces on leaves of Elaeis oleifera. Two species are described from India, namely Russula intervenosa (ectomycorrhizal with Shorea robusta), and Crinipellis odorata (on bark of Mytragyna parviflora). Novelties from Thailand include Cyphellophora gamsii (on leaf litter), Pisolithus aureosericeus and Corynascus citrinus (on soil). Two species are newly described from Citrus in Italy, namely Dendryphiella paravinosa on Citrus sinensis, and Ramularia citricola on Citrus floridana. Morphological and culture characteristics along with ITS nrDNA barcodes are provided for all taxa.

The most common cause of invasive aspergillosis (IA) in patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is Aspergillus fumigatus followed by A. nidulans ; other aspergilli rarely cause the disease. Here we review two clinical cases of fatal IA in CGD patients and describe a new etiologic agent of IA refractory to antifungal therapy. Unlike typical IA caused by A. fumigatus , the disease caused by the new species was chronic and spread from the lung to multiple adjacent organs. Mycological characteristics and the phylogenetic relationship with other aspergilli based on the sequence analysis of Mcm7 , RPB2 , and Tsr1 indicated that the new species, which we named as A. tanneri , belongs to Aspergillus section Circumdati . The species has a higher amphotericin B, voriconazole, and itraconazole MIC and causes more chronic infection in CGD mice than A. fumigatus . This is the first report documenting IA in CGD patients caused by a species belonging to the Aspergillus section Circumdati that is inherently resistant to azoles and amphotericin B. Unlike the results seen with many members of Aspergillus section Circumdati , ochratoxin was not detected in filtrates of cultures grown in various media. Our phenotypic and genetic characterization of the new species and the case reports will assist future diagnosis of infection caused by A. tanneri and lead to more appropriate patient management.

β-tubulin, calmodulin, internal transcribed spacer and partial lsu-rDNA, RNA polymerase 2, DNA replication licensing factor Mcm7, and pre-rRNA processing protein Tsr1 were amplified and sequenced from numerous isolates belonging to Aspergillus sect. versicolor. The isolates were analyzed phylogenetically using the concordance model to establish species boundaries. Aspergillus austroafricanus, A. creber, A. cvjetkovicii, A. fructus, A. jensenii, A. puulaauensis, A. subversicolor, A. tennesseensis and A. venenatus are described as new species and A. amoenus, A. protuberus, A. sydowii, A. tabacinus and A. versicolor are accepted as distinct species on the basis of molecular and phenotypic differences. PCR primer pairs used to detect A. versicolor in sick building syndrome studies have a positive reaction for all of the newly described species except A. subversicolor.

Current methods in DNA technology can detect single nucleotide polymorphisms with measurable accuracy using several different approaches appropriate for different uses. If there are even single nucleotide differences that are invariant markers of the species, we can accomplish identification through rapid DNA-based tests. The question of whether we can reliably detect and identify species of Aspergillus and Penicillium turns mainly upon the completeness of our alpha taxonomy, our species concepts, and how well the available DNA data coincide with the taxonomic diversity in the family Trichocomaceae. No single gene is yet known that is invariant within species and variable between species as would be optimal for the barcode approach. Data are published that would make an MLST approach to isolate identification possible in the most well-studied clades of Aspergillus and Penicillium.

Penicillium menonorum is described as a new monoverticillate, non-vesiculate species that resembles P. restrictum and P. pimiteouiense. On the basis of phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences from four loci, P. menonorum occurs in a clade with P. pimiteouiense, P. vinaceum, P. guttulosum, P. rubidurum, and P. parvum. Genealogical concordance analysis was applied to P. pimiteouiense and P. parvum, substantiating the phenotypically defined species. The species P. rubidurum, P. guttulosum, and P. menonorum were on distinct branches statistically excluded from inclusion in other species and have distinct phenotypes.

The taxonomic history of anamorphic species attributed to Penicillium subgenus Biverticillium is reviewed, along with evidence supporting their relationship with teleomorphic species classified in Talaromyces. To supplement previous conclusions based on ITS, SSU and/or LSU sequencing that Talaromyces and subgenus Biverticillium comprise a monophyletic group that is distinct from Penicillium at the generic level, the phylogenetic relationships of these two groups with other genera of Trichocomaceae was further studied by sequencing a part of the RPB1 (RNA polymerase II largest subunit) gene. Talaromyces species and most species of Penicillium subgenus Biverticilliumsensu Pitt reside in a monophyletic clade distant from species of other subgenera of Penicillium . For detailed phylogenetic analysis of species relationships, the ITS region (incl. 5.8S nrDNA) was sequenced for the available type strains and/or representative isolates of Talaromyces and related biverticillate anamorphic species. Extrolite profiles were compiled for all type strains and many supplementary cultures. All evidence supports our conclusions that Penicillium subgenus Biverticillium is distinct from other subgenera in Penicillium and should be taxonomically unified with the Talaromyces species that reside in the same clade. Following the concepts of nomenclatural priority and single name nomenclature, we transfer all accepted species of Penicillium subgenus Biverticillium to Talaromyces . A holomorphic generic diagnosis for the expanded concept of Talaromyces , including teleomorph and anamorph characters, is provided. A list of accepted Talaromyces names and newly combined Penicillium names is given. Species of biotechnological and medical importance, such as P. funiculosum and P. marneffei, are now combined in Talaromyces . Excluded species and taxa that need further taxonomic study are discussed. An appendix lists other generic names, usually considered synonyms of Penicillium sensu lato that were considered prior to our adoption of the name Talaromyces . Taxonomic novelties: Taxonomic novelties:New species – Talaromyces apiculatus Samson, Yilmaz & Frisvad, sp. nov. New combinations and names – Talaromyces aculeatus (Raper & Fennell) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. albobiverticillius (H.-M. Hsieh, Y.-M. Ju & S.-Y. Hsieh) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. allahabadensis (B.S. Mehrotra & D. Kumar) Samson, Yilmaz & Frisvad, T. aurantiacus (J.H. Mill., Giddens & A.A. Foster) Samson, Yilmaz, & Frisvad, T. boninensis (Yaguchi & Udagawa) Samson, Yilmaz, & Frisvad, T. brunneus (Udagawa) Samson, Yilmaz & Frisvad, T. calidicanius (J.L. Chen) Samson, Yilmaz & Frisvad, T. cecidicola (Seifert, Hoekstra & Frisvad) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. coalescens (Quintan.) Samson, Yilmaz & Frisvad, T. dendriticus (Pitt) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. diversus (Raper & Fennell) Samson, Yilmaz & Frisvad, T. duclauxii (Delacr.) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. echinosporus (Nehira) Samson, Yilmaz & Frisvad, comb. nov. T. erythromellis (A.D. Hocking) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. funiculosus (Thom) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. islandicus (Sopp) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. loliensis (Pitt) Samson, Yilmaz & Frisvad, T. marneffei (Segretain, Capponi & Sureau) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. minioluteus (Dierckx) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. palmae (Samson, Stolk & Frisvad) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. panamensis (Samson, Stolk & Frisvad) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. paucisporus (Yaguchi, Someya & Udagawa) Samson & Houbraken T. phialosporus (Udagawa) Samson, Yilmaz & Frisvad, T. piceus (Raper & Fennell) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. pinophilus (Hedgcock) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. pittii (Quintan.) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. primulinus (Pitt) Samson, Yilmaz & Frisvad, T. proteolyticus (Kamyschko) Samson, Yilmaz & Frisvad, T. pseudostromaticus (Hodges, G.M. Warner, Rogerson) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. purpurogenus (Stoll) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. rademirici (Quintan.) Samson, Yilmaz & Frisvad, T. radicus (A.D. Hocking & Whitelaw) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. ramulosus (Visagie & K. Jacobs) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. rubicundus (J.H. Mill., Giddens & A.A. Foster) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. rugulosus (Thom) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. sabulosus (Pitt & A.D. Hocking) Samson, Yilmaz & Frisvad, T. siamensis (Manoch & C. Ramirez) Samson, Yilmaz & Frisvad, T. sublevisporus (Yaguchi & Udagawa) Samson, Yilmaz & Frisvad, T. variabilis (Sopp) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. varians (G. Sm.) Samson, Yilmaz & Frisvad, T. verruculosus (Peyronel) Samson, Yilmaz, Frisvad & Seifert, T. viridulus Samson, Yilmaz & Frisvad.

Section Terrei of Aspergillus was studied using a polyphasic approach including sequence analysis of parts of the β-tubulin and calmodulin genes and the ITS region, macro- and micromorphological analyses and examination of extrolite profiles to describe three new species in this section. Based on phylogenetic analysis of calmodulin and β-tubulin sequences seven lineages were observed among isolates that have previously been treated as A. terreus and its subspecies by Raper & Fennell (1965) and others. Aspergillus alabamensis, A. terreus var. floccosus, A. terreus var. africanus, A. terreus var. aureus, A. hortai and A. terreus NRRL 4017 all represent distinct lineages from the A. terreus clade. Among them, A. terreus var. floccosus, A. terreus NRRL 4017 and A. terreus var. aureus could also be distinguished from A. terreus by using ITS sequence data. New names are proposed for A. terreus var. floccosus, A. terreus var. africanus, A. terreus var. aureus, while Aspergillus hortai is recognised at species level. Aspergillus terreus NRRL 4017 is described as the new species A. pseudoterreus. Also included in section Terrei are some species formerly placed in sections Flavipedes and Versicolores. A. clade including the type isolate of A. niveus (CBS 115.27) constitutes a lineage closely related to A. carneus. Fennellia nivea, the hypothesized teleomorph is not related to this clade. Aspergillus allahabadii, A. niveus var. indicus, and two species originally placed in section Versicolores, A. ambiguus and A. microcysticus, also form well-defined lineages on all trees. Species in Aspergillus section Terrei are producers of a diverse array of secondary metabolites. However, many of the species in the section produce different combinations of the following metabolites: acetylaranotin, asperphenamate, aspochalamins, aspulvinones, asteltoxin, asterric acid, asterriquinones, aszonalenins, atrovenetins, butyrolactones, citreoisocoumarins, citreoviridins, citrinins, decaturins, fulvic acid, geodins, gregatins, mevinolins, serantrypinone, terreic acid (only the precursor 3,6-dihydroxytoluquinone found), terreins, terrequinones, terretonins and territrems. The cholesterol-lowering agent mevinolin was found in A. terreus and A. neoafricanus only. The hepatotoxic extrolite citrinin was found in eight species: A. alabamensis, A. allahabadii, A. carneus, A. floccosus, A. hortai, A. neoindicus, A. niveus and A. pseudoterreus. The neurotoxic extrolite citreoviridin was found in five species: A. neoafricanus, A. aureoterreus, A. pseudoterreus, A. terreus and A. neoniveus. Territrems, tremorgenic extrolites, were found in some strains of A. alabamensis and A. terreus.Taxonomic novelties:Aspergillus aureoterreus stat. et nom. nov., Aspergillus floccosus comb. et stat. nov., Aspergillus neoafricanus stat. et nom. nov., Aspergillus neoindicus stat. et nom. nov., Aspergillus neoniveus nom. nov., Aspergillus pseudoterreus sp. nov.

Aspergillus oryzae NRRL 35191 was isolated as an endophyte from coffee leaves and found to produce kojic acid (KA) in culture. When inoculated into cacao seedlings (Theobroma cacao), A. oryzae grew endophytically and synthesized KA in planta. Cacao seedlings inoculated with A. oryzae produced higher levels of caffeine than non-inoculated ones. Aspergillus oryzae may be a useful endophyte to introduce to cacao since it grows non-pathogenically and induces the caffeine defense response that may make the plant more tolerant to insects and pathogens.

Coffee (Coffea arabica) plant tissues were surface-sterilized and fungal endophytes isolated using standard techniques, followed by DNA extraction and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS). A total of 843 fungal isolates were recovered and sequenced (Colombia, 267; Hawai'i, 393; Mexico, 109; Puerto Rico, 74) yielding 257 unique ITS genotypes (Colombia, 113; Hawai'i, 126; Mexico, 32; Puerto Rico, 40). The most abundant taxa were Colletotrichum, Fusarium, Penicillium, and Xylariaceae. Overall, 220 genotypes were detected in only one of the countries sampled; only two genotypes were found in all four countries. Endophytes were also isolated from Coffea canephora, Coffea congensis, Coffea liberica, Coffea macrocarpa, Coffea racemosa, and Coffea stenophylla in Hawai'i. The high biodiversity of fungal endophytes in coffee plants may indicate that most of these are “accidental tourists” with no role in the plant, in contrast to endophytes that could be defined as “influential passengers” and whose role in the plant has been elucidated. This study, the most comprehensive analysis of fungal endophytes associated with a single host species, demonstrates that coffee plants serve as a reservoir for a wide variety of fungal endophytes that can be isolated from various plant tissues, including the seed, and illustrates the different fungal communities encountered by C. arabica in different coffee-growing regions of the world.

A large aggregate collection of clinical isolates of aspergilli ( n = 218) from transplant patients with proven or probable invasive aspergillosis was available from the Transplant-Associated Infection Surveillance Network, a 6-year prospective surveillance study. To determine the Aspergillus species distribution in this collection, isolates were subjected to comparative sequence analyses by use of the internal transcribed spacer and β-tubulin regions. Aspergillus fumigatus was the predominant species recovered, followed by A. flavus and A. niger . Several newly described species were identified, including A. lentulus and A. calidoustus ; both species had high in vitro MICs to multiple antifungal drugs. Aspergillus tubingensis , a member of the A. niger species complex, is described from clinical specimens; all A. tubingensis isolates had low in vitro MICs to antifungal drugs.

Two new Penicillium species were isolated from peanut-field soils in Georgia. The species were noted particularly because they sporulated on the conidial heads of Aspergillus species. Phenotypic descriptions were prepared with standard media. LSU-rDNA sequences were determined for the new species and compared to existing homologous sequences from Penicillium species with parsimony analysis. The monoverticillate species, P. parvulum, was related most closely to E. cinnamopurpureum, while the furcate species, P. georgiense, appeared in the tree near P. thiersii. Because P. parvulum was closely related to E. cinnamopurpureum additional loci were sequenced (beta-tubulin and calmodulin) for these and some other closely related species to establish the status of the species through genealogical concordance. Some proposed synonymies from prior studies were examined and resolved.

DNA sequences were determined for beta tubulin (BT2), calmodulin (CF), ITS and lsu rDNA (ID) and RNA polymerase II (RPB2) from ca. 460 Aspergillus isolates. RPB2 and rDNA sequences were combined and analyzed to determine relationships in the genus and in the family Trichocomaceae. Eupenicillium species form a statistically supported clade with origins among the Aspergillus clades. A. crystallinus, A. malodoratus and H. paradoxus are members of the Eupenicillium clade. A. zonatus, A. clavatoflvus and W. spinulosa occur in a clade along with Hamigera sp. Other than these exceptional species, Aspergillus species and sections occur on three strongly supported clades that descend from a polytomy. Section Versicolores as a monophyletic group includes only A. versicolor and A. sydowii and is superfluous. The other sections were retained but modified. All four loci were used in genealogical concordance analysis of species boundaries. Fennellia flavipes and F. nivea are not conspecific with their supposed anamorph...

The genus Penicillium comprises species that mostly colonize plant matter. However early reports suggest that several species are capable of parasitizing Aspergillus and sporulating on the conidial heads of the host. More recently Eupenicillium ochrosalmoneum and E. cinnamopurpureum, both with Penicillium anamorphs, have been observed sporulating on the heads of Aspergillus species belonging to section Flavi during the colonization of peanut seeds. Little is known about the host specificity underlying these Aspergillus-Penicillium associations. In this study Aspergillus species representing nine taxonomic sections were paired in culture with E. ochrosalmoneum, E. cinnamopurpureum and two unnamed Penicillium species. Eupenicillium ochrosalmoneum, E. cinnamopurpureum and Penicillium sp. 1 sporulated predominantly on the heads of section Flavi species. In contrast Penicillium sp. 2 was restricted to the heads of section Nigri species. All species spread across Aspergillus colonies by means of aerial hyphae that grew from head to head. Additional studies are required to clarify whether Eupenicillium and Penicillium species are parasitic or simply epibiotic on their hosts.

The entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana was established in coffee seedlings after fungal spore suspensions were applied as foliar sprays, stem injections, or soil drenches. Direct injection yielded the highest post-inoculation recovery of endophytic B. bassiana. Establishment, based on percent recovery of B. bassiana, decreased as time post-inoculation increased in all treatments. Several other endophytes were isolated from the seedlings and could have negatively influenced establishment of B. bassiana. The recovery of B. bassiana from sites distant from the point of inoculation indicates that the fungus has the potential to move throughout the plant. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The British Mycological Society.

The species recognition and identification of aspergilli and their teleomorphs is discussed. A historical overview of the taxonomic concepts starting with the monograph of Raper & Fennell (1965) is given. A list of taxa described since 2000 is provided. Physiological characters, particularly growth rates and the production of extrolites, often show differences that reflect phylogenetic species boundaries and greater emphasis should be placed on extrolite profiles and growth characteristics in species descriptions. Multilocus sequence-based phylogenetic analyses have emerged as the primary tool for inferring phylogenetic species boundaries and relationships within subgenera and sections. A four locus DNA sequence study covering all major lineages in Aspergillus using genealogical concordance theory resulted in a species recognition system that agrees in part with phenotypic studies and reveals the presence of many undescribed species not resolved by phenotype. The use of as much data from as many sources as possible in making taxonomic decisions is advocated. For species identification, DNA barcoding uses a short genetic marker in an organism”s DNA to quickly and easily identify it to a particular species. Partial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 sequences, which are used for barcoding animal species, were found to have limited value for species identification among black aspergilli. The various possibilities are discussed and at present partial β-tubulin or calmodulin are the most promising loci for Aspergillus identification. For characterising Aspergillus species one application would be to produce a multilocus phylogeny, with the goal of having a firm understanding of the evolutionary relationships among species across the entire genus. DNA chip technologies are discussed as possibilities for an accurate multilocus barcoding tool for the genus Aspergillus.

Avellanin C, an inhibitor of quorum-sensing signaling in Staphylococcus aureus , from Hamigera ingelheimensis

A set of isolates very similar to or potentially conspecific with an unidentified Penicillium isolate NRRL 735, was assembled using a BLAST search of ITS similarity among described (GenBank) and undescribed Penicillium isolates in our laboratories. DNA was amplified from six loci of the assembled isolates and sequenced. Two species in section Cinnamopurpurea are self-compatible sexual species, but the asexual species had polymorphic loci suggestive of sexual reproduction and variation in conidium size suggestive of ploidy level differences typical of heterothallism. Accordingly we use genealogical concordance analysis, a technique valid only in heterothallic organisms, for putatively asexual species. Seven new species were revealed in the analysis and are described here. Extrolite analysis showed that two of the new species, P. colei and P. monsserratidens produce the mycotoxin citreoviridin that has demonstrated pharmacological activity against human lung tumors. These isolates could provide leads in pharmaceutical research.

Tissues from Coffea arabica, C. congensis, C. dewevrei and C. liberica collected in Colombia, Hawaii and at a local plant nursery in Maryland were sampled for the presence of fungal endophytes. Surface sterilized tissues including roots, leaves, stems and various berry parts were plated on yeast-malt agar. DNA was extracted from a set of isolates visually recognized as Penicillium, and the internal transcribed spacer region and partial LSU-rDNA was amplified and sequenced. Comparison of DNA sequences with GenBank and unpublished sequences revealed the presence of 11 known Penicillium species: P. brevicompactum, P. brocae, P. cecidicola, P. citrinum, P. coffeae, P. crustosum, P. janthinellum, P. olsonii, P. oxalicum, P. sclerotiorum and P. steckii as well as two possibly undescribed species near P. diversum and P. roseopurpureum. Ochratoxin A was produced by only four isolates, one isolate each of P. brevicompactum, P. crustosum, P. olsonii and P. oxalicum. The role these endophytes play in the biology of the coffee plant remains enigmatic.

We describe three new fungicolous species on the basis of phenotypic and phylogenetic differences from known species. Penicillium thiersii, P. angulare and Penicillium decaturense are described. Penicillium thiersii phenotypically is identified on the basis of several characteristics including growth rates, vesicle size and condium shape and roughening. Penicillium angulare is related most closely to P. adametzioides but differs from it by restricted growth rates and conidiophores greater than 60 μm in length. Penicillium decaturense is related most closely to P. miczynskii but differs from that species by growth rate, minimum growth temperature and pigment production on MEA. Multilocus phylogenetic analysis confirmed the genetic distinctiveness of P. decaturense and the closely related species P. miczynskii, P. chrzaszczii and P. manginii. Penicillium rivolii is a synonym of P. waksmanii on the basis of this analysis. Analysis of the EF-1α gene shows rapid changes of position, number and length of introns between the species, suggesting a recent evolutionary origin for the introns.

Field surveys were carried out in coffee plantations in Chiapas, Mexico, to collect and identify fungi associated with the cuticle, gut, faeces and galleries of the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei. Insects and coffee berries containing galleries were collected in three coffee farms at different altitudes: Rosario Izapa (425 m), La Alianza (700 m) and Monteperla (950 m). An additional sample consisting of coffee berry borers reared in the laboratory on meridic diets was also included. Results show that there is a great diversity of fungi associated with this insect. 212 cultures, including 40 species distributed in 22 genera, were isolated. The recovery of fungi from the galleries was markedly less than from the borer's body. Three of the isolated species were undescribed; two belonging to the Penicillium and one to Hanseniaspora. Most of the species were collected from the cuticle of the insect, and the presence of fungi was not correlated with altitude. Fusarium, Penicillium, Candida and Aspergillus were the dominant genera with percentage abundance of 26.4, 18.7, 13.4 and 12.5%, respectively. The present study provides a detailed description of the mycobiota associated with H. hampei and represents a significant advance in the understanding of the relationship among this insect and the fungi associated with it.