Species Identification and Antifungal Susceptibility Patterns of Species Belonging to AspergillusSection Nigri

ABSTRACTA phylogenetic analysis was performed for 34 Aspergillusstrains belonging to section Nigri. Molecular methods allowed for the correct classification into three different clades (A. niger, A. tubingensis, and A. foetidus). Correlation with in vitro itraconazole susceptibility distinguished the following three profiles: susceptible, resistant, and showing a paradoxical effect. A number of different species whose morphological features resemble those of A. nigershowed unusual MICs to itraconazole that have never been described for the Aspergillusgenus.