title: Molecular phylogeny and phenotypic variability of clinical and environmental strains of Aspergillus flavus.
abstract: Aspergillus flavus is the second most common cause of aspergillosis infection in immunocompromised patients and is responsible for the production of aflatoxins. Little is known about the population structure of A. flavus, although recent molecular and phenotypic data seem to demonstrate that different genetic lineages exist within this species. The aim of this study was to carry out a morphological, physiological, and molecular analysis of a set of clinical and environmental isolates to determine whether this variability is due to species divergence or intraspecific diversity, and to assess whether the clinical isolates form a separate group. The amdS and omtA genes were more phylogenetically informative than the other tested genes and their combined analysis inferred three main clades, with no clear distinction between clinical and environmental isolates. No important morphological and physiological differences were found between the members of the different clades, with the exception of the assimilation of d-glucosamine, which differentiates the members of the clade II from the others.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sarah S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.forename: Josep F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Cano
authors.forename: Alberto M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Stchigel
authors.forename: Analy S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Melo
authors.forename: Patricio C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Godoy-Martinez
authors.forename: Benedito
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Correa
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guarro
mesh_terms: D000581:Amidohydrolases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D001231:Aspergillus flavus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001483:Base Sequence; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008780:Methyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D008780:Methyltransferases; C096006:omtA protein, Aspergillus; D000581:Amidohydrolases; C021445:acetamidase