Aspergillus dhakephalkarii and A. patriciawiltshireae spp. nov., two new species in Aspergillus sect. Nigri ser. Japonici (Eurotiales, Aspergillaceae) from India

This study introduces two new black Aspergillus species, A. dhakephalkarii and A. patriciawiltshireae, in sect. Nigri ser. Japonici. Aspergillus dhakephalkarii and A. patriciawiltshireae were isolated from soils from the Western Ghats of India. The taxonomy of the new species was determined through a polyphasic approach that included phenotypic characteristics and phylogenetic analyses of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, and partial beta-tubulin (BenA), calmodulin (CaM) and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2) genes applying Genealogical Concordance Phylogenetic Species Recognition (GCPSR). The main characteristics of A. dhakephalkarii include: fast-growing colonies with the production of pale to dark brown to brown conidia en masse; yellowish white to yellowish orange sclerotia; uniseriate conidiophores splitting into two to three columns; and smooth-walled ellipsoidal conidia. The conidial features of the new species differ from those of closely related species in the series, which typically have spherical conidia and echinulate walls. A. patriciawiltshireae is characterised by fast growing colonies with abundant sclerotia production on Czapek Yeast Autolysate Agar (CYA) and Malt Extract Agar (MEA) and modest sporulation. Aspergillus patriciawiltshireae has echinulate conidia, and uniseriate conidiophores, splitting into more than five columns. Phylogenetically, A. dhakephalkarii is sister to A. saccharolyticus, and A. patriciawiltshireae to A. indologenus, A. japonicus, and A. uvarum. This study also reports the first records of A. aculeatinus and A. brunneoviolaceous from India.