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Abstract
As part of a study on the ochratoxin producing mycoflora of grapes, several Aspergillus strains were isolated and tested for their ochratoxin A (OTA) producing abilities. Aspergillus strains of the section Nigri, which did not produce detectable amounts of OTA but which had a similar morphology to A. carbonarius, were isolated from wine grapes and/or dried vine fruit in Portugal and Spain. These strains, however, have characters that allow morphological distinction from the other species in the section, particularly the conidia size (5–7 μm), which allows separation of the species from the two most common biseriate species in section Nigri: A. carbonarius (7–9 μm) and A. niger and its aggregate species (3–5 μm). The strains are described here as belonging to a new species, named A. ibericus. The validation of this new taxon is supported further by analysis of the ITS-5.8S rDNA and calmodulin gene sequences and by analysis of the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) patterns, which were consistent in separating these strains from other species in the section. A. ibericus strains do not produce OTA therefore they are interesting for biotechnological exploration because many metabolites with commercial value are produced by other species in the section.
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the EC, Quality of Life Programme (QoL), Key Action 1 (KA1) on Food, Nutrition and Health; contract number QLK1-CT-2001-01761, Wine-Ochra Risk. Rita Serra was supported by grant SFRH/BD/1436/2000 from Fundação para a Ciência e Technologia.
