Aspergillus
Author:
Rokas A
Date: 25 March 2013
Abstract:
What is Aspergillus?Aspergillus is a widely distributed genus of more than 250 species of largely saprophytic filamentous fungi belonging to the phylum Ascomycota. Originally described in 1729 by the botanist and priest Antonio Micheli, the genus got its name from the resemblance of its asexual spore-forming structure to the aspergillum, an instrument for sprinkling holy water, although some modern taxonomists profess that it more closely resembles a toilet bowl brush (Figure 1). To the dismay of amateur and professional systematists alike, Aspergillus species are morphologically very similar and hard to distinguish; however, their genomic diversity is on par with that of our own phylum, the Vertebrates.
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