Aspergillus sibiricus V.A. Iliushin, sp. nov. (Fig. 2)

MB 841752

Type:— RUSSIA. Siberia: Altai Republic, Kosh-Agach area, Chagan-Uzun village (50°10’24’’N, 88°36’15’’E): from acid (pH 3.2) soil open coal mine, 2015, isol. V . A. Iliushin, (holotype LE F-341005 dried culture); ex-type culture CBS 143307 . ITS barcode: MG 587008 (alternative markers: BenA = MG 722970; CaM = MG 722971; RPB2 = MG 710809) .

Etymology:— Latin “sibiricus” refers to the place of collection (Siberia).

Diagnosis:— A. sibiricus has subglobose to globose vesicles, ampulliform phialides and produces globose, smooth conidia. It is able to grow at 47 °C but does not grow at 50 °C.

Description:— Colony diam. at 7 days (mm). 25 °C: CYA 28–32, MEA 27–32, CZ 25–30, YES 40–44, OA 26–33, M20S 35–40. 30 °C: CYA 35–40, MEA 35–40. 37 °C: CYA 47–51, MEA 40–45.

Colony characters:— Colonies on CYA, 7 days, 25 °C are pale greenish yellow (#ebe8a4), velvety; conidiogenesis abundant; sclerotia absent; reverse uncoloured. Colony characters on CYA, 30 °C and on CYA, 37 °C are the same as characters on CYA, 7 days, 25°C. Colonies on MEA, 7 days, 25 °C are greenish white (#dfede8) or almost white (#f2f3f4), plane, velvety to powdery, conidiogenesis few in number; reverse vivid yellow (#F3C300); sclerotia absent. Colony characters on MEA, 30 °C and on MEA, 37 °C are the same as characters on MEA, 7 days, 25°C. Colonies on CZ, 7 days, 25 °C are pale greenish yellow (#ebe8a4), plane; conidiogenesis abundant; sclerotia absent; reverse uncoloured. Colonies on YES, 7 days, 25 °C are grayish white (#dfede8), almost plane, slightly convex in the centre, velvety-felt; conidiogenesis abundant; sclerotia absent; reverse uncoloured. Colonies on OA, 7 days, 25 °C are almost white (#f2f3f4), plane, powdery; conidiogenesis abundant; sclerotia absent; reverse uncoloured. Colonies on M20S, 7 days, 25 °C are white (#f2f3f4), plane, slightly velvety, conidiogenesis few in number; reverse vivid yellow (#F3C300); sclerotia absent (Fig. 2).

Micromorphology:— mycelium branched, septate, smooth-walled hyphae, 2.0–6.0 μm wide. Conidial heads columnar, uniseriate. Conidiophores 50–250 μm long, 2.5–5.0 μm wide in the middle, smooth-walled, non-septate or with occasional septum, lower part occasionally greenish yellow. Vesicles subglobose to globose, 8–16 μm in diameter. Aspergilla uniseriate; phialides ampulliform, 3–5 × 1.5–2.5 μm, covering two-thirds of the vesicle. Conidia uncoloured in mass, globose 1.5–2.2 μm, smooth (Fig. 2).

Notes:— A. sibiricus is able to grow at 47 °C and does not grow at 50 °C. A. sibiricus grows in a wide pH range of 2–10 with an optimum of 4–7.