2. Aspergillus was named by Italian priest-
biologist Pier Antonio Micheli. It belongs to
the family Aspergillaceae and is genetically
close to the genus Penicillium. Aspergillus is
large genus of anamorphic fungi. This genus
consists of over 340 officially recognized
species. Aspergilli have great importance in
many fields like plant, animals and human
health etc.
By MF
6. Aspergillus fungi can have beneficial as well as detrimental
effects on humankind and the environment.
For example :
âť–Aspergillus fumigatus & Aspergillus flavus- cause aspergillosis
âť–Aspergillus flavus & Aspergillus parasiticus- contaminate
plant-based foods & feeds with mycotoxin aflatoxins
âť–Aspergillus niger- produce harmful secondary metabolites e.g
ochratoxin A, fumonisin
âť–Aspergillus terrus- release secondary metabolites e.g patulin,
citrinin, gliotoxin & cause invasive pulmonary aspergillosis
BENEFITS V/S HARMS
hazards
By MF
7. Different species of Aspergillus are used commercially for the
production of food related products such as:
âť–Aspergillus luchuensis- awamori (beverage)
❖Aspergillus kawachii (white-koji mold)– alcholic beverages, alpha &
beta amylases, citric acid production
âť–Aspergillus niger- food ingredients, extracellular enzymes, organic
acids, humanized antibodies
âť–Aspergillus saccharolyticus & Aspergillus brasiliensis- beta-glucosidase,
succinic acid, lactic acid
âť–Aspergillus flavus- malic acid
âť–Aspergillus oryzae (yellow-koji mold)- sake, soy sauce, vinegar, lipase,
lactase, protease
âť–Aspergillus sojae (koji mold)- soy sauce, kochujang, pectinases,
polygalacturonases
âť–Aspergillus tamarii- tamari, xylanase, lipase
âť–Aspergillus terrus- drugs e.g lovastatin (cholesterol-lowering drug),
asperfuranone & cyclosporine A (immuno-suppressant drug)
âť–Aspergillus nidulans- endoglucanase, beta-glucosidase
âť–Aspergillus fumigatus- cellulase, xylanase
benefits
By MF
8. Several Aspergillus species are widely used in biotechnology as
cellular factories for the production of enzymes, organic acids,
pharmaceuticals
They have wide applications and extensively used in industrial (A.
oryzae, A. niger), medical (A.fumigatus, A. terreus) & agricultural
and food (A. flavus, A. parasiticus) fields
Some also produce harmful metabolites
Many species of Aspergillus are considered as safe organism by World
Health Organization (WHO) and listed as Generally Recognized As
Safe (GRAS) by the United States Food and Drug Administration
such as Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus oryzae.
By MF