The document discusses the genus Aspergillus. It was named by Italian priest-biologist Pier Antonio Micheli and belongs to the family Aspergillaceae. The genus contains over 340 species of anamorphic fungi. Aspergillus species can have both beneficial and detrimental effects on humans and the environment, as some cause disease while others are used commercially to produce foods and enzymes. Several Aspergillus species are widely used in biotechnology and industry due to their ability to produce useful enzymes, organic acids, and pharmaceuticals.

1. BY
MALEEHA
FATIMA
MF

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

3. 1. Aspergillus clavatus
2. Aspergillus glaucus
3. Aspergillus ornatus
4. Aspergillus cervinus
5. Aspergillus restrictus
6. Aspergillus fumigatus
7. Aspergillus ochraceous
8. Aspergillus niger
9. Aspergillus candidus
10. Aspergillus flavus
11. Aspergillus wentii
12. Aspergillus cremeus
13. Aspergillus sparsus
14. Aspergillus versicolor
15. Aspergillus nidulans
16. Aspergillus ustus
17. Aspergillus flavipes
18. Aspergillus terreus
Raper & Fennell divided Aspergillus into 18
groups :-
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4. MACROSCOPICALLY
 Colony diameter
 Conidial colour
 Colony reverse
 Exudates
MICROSCOPICALLY
 Conidiophore
 Vesicle
 Metula
 Phialides
 Conidia
By MF

5. 10 X 100 X
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6. Aspergillus fungi can have beneficial as well as detrimental
effects on humankind and the environment.
For example :
❖Aspergillus fumigatus & Aspergillus flavus- cause aspergillosis
❖Aspergillus flavus & Aspergillus parasiticus- contaminate
plant-based foods & feeds with mycotoxin aflatoxins
❖Aspergillus niger- produce harmful secondary metabolites e.g
ochratoxin A, fumonisin
❖Aspergillus terrus- release secondary metabolites e.g patulin,
citrinin, gliotoxin & cause invasive pulmonary aspergillosis
BENEFITS V/S HARMS
hazards
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7. Different species of Aspergillus are used commercially for the
production of food related products such as:
❖Aspergillus luchuensis- awamori (beverage)
❖Aspergillus kawachii (white-koji mold)– alcholic beverages, alpha &
beta amylases, citric acid production
❖Aspergillus niger- food ingredients, extracellular enzymes, organic
acids, humanized antibodies
❖Aspergillus saccharolyticus & Aspergillus brasiliensis- beta-glucosidase,
succinic acid, lactic acid
❖Aspergillus flavus- malic acid
❖Aspergillus oryzae (yellow-koji mold)- sake, soy sauce, vinegar, lipase,
lactase, protease
❖Aspergillus sojae (koji mold)- soy sauce, kochujang, pectinases,
polygalacturonases
❖Aspergillus tamarii- tamari, xylanase, lipase
❖Aspergillus terrus- drugs e.g lovastatin (cholesterol-lowering drug),
asperfuranone & cyclosporine A (immuno-suppressant drug)
❖Aspergillus nidulans- endoglucanase, beta-glucosidase
❖Aspergillus fumigatus- cellulase, xylanase
benefits
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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