Systematics of Aspergillus species of subgenus Nidulantes in Iran

Aspergillus subgenus Nidulantes accommodates species of industrial and medical importance. Thirty isolates morphologically assigned to subgenus Nidulantes were studied, 25 isolated from cereals in the north and northwestern provinces and the rest from other substrates in Iran. Based on morphological and molecular data (sequences of the ITS rDNA and β-tubulin), nine species were identified belonging to the sections Nidulantes, Usti, Terrei and Flavipedes. Phylogenetic analyses based on the β-tubulin gene resolved the relationship among the examined Aspergillus species largely concordant with morphological characters. Among the identified species, Aspergillus aurantiobrunneus, A. calidoustus, A. flavipes, A. iizukae, A. insuetus, A. kassunensis, A. quadrilineatus and are new records to the Iranian mycobiota.