The present taxonomy of the black aspergilli reveals that there are 19 accepted taxa. However the identification of species of Aspergillus section Nigri is often problematic in spite of the existence of numerous methods proposed. An overview is provided of phenotypic and molecular methods to identify the accepted species of the black aspergilli. Colony morphology, conidial size and ornamentation of the ex type cultures is presented in a pictorial overview. The temperature range of all species is given and their growth characteristics on creatine agar and boscalid agar, a medium which was developed as a selective medium for the isolation of A. carbonarius are also shown. The extrolites produced by each species are listed while the response of the Ehrlich reaction is described. The literature on the various molecular methods to be used for species identification is reviewed and a critical evaluation of the usefulness of various techniques and genomic loci for species identification of black aspergilli is presented.

The genus Aspergillus is one of the most important filamentous fungal genera. Aspergillus species are used in the fermentation industry, but they are also responsible of various plant and food secondary rot, with the consequence of possible accumulation of mycotoxins. The aflatoxin producing A. flavus and A. parasiticus, and ochratoxinogenic A. niger, A. ochraceus and A. carbonarius species are frequently encountered in agricultural products. Studies on the biodiversity of toxigenic Aspergillus species is useful to clarify molecular, ecological and biochemical characteristics of the different species in relation to their different adaptation to environmental and geographical conditions, and to their potential toxigenicity. Here we analyzed the biodiversity of ochratoxin producing species occurring on two important crops: grapes and coffee, and the genetic diversity of A. flavus populations occurring in agricultural fields. Altogether nine different black Aspergillus species can be found on grapes which are often difficult to identify with classical methods. The polyphasic approach used in our studies led to the identification of three new species occurring on grapes: A. brasiliensis, A. ibericus, and A. uvarum. Similar studies on the Aspergillus species occurring on coffee beans have evidenced in the last five years that A. carbonarius is an important source of ochratoxin A in coffee. Four new species within the black aspergilli were also identified in coffee beans: A. sclerotioniger, A. lacticoffeatus, A. sclerotiicarbonarius, and A. aculeatinus. The genetic diversity within A. flavus populations has been widely studied in relation to their potential aflatoxigenicity and morphological variants L- and S-strains. Within A. flavus and other Aspergillus species capable of aflatoxin production, considerable diversity is found. We summarise the main recent achievements in the diversity of the aflatoxin gene cluster in A. flavus populations, A. parasiticus and the non-toxigenic A. oryzae. Studies are needed in order to characterise the aflatoxin biosynthetic genes in the new related taxa A. minisclerotigenes and A. arachidicola.

During 2006 and 2007, a total of 64 Thai dried coffee bean samples (Coffea arabica) from two growing sites in Chiangmai Province and 32 Thai dried coffee bean samples (Coffea canephora) from two growing sites in Chumporn Province, Thailand, were collected and assessed for fumonisin contamination by black Aspergilli. No Fusarium species known to produce fumonisin were detected, but black Aspergilli had high incidences on both Arabica and Robusta Thai coffee beans. Liquid chromatography (LC) with high-resolution mass spectrometric (HRMS) detection showed that 67% of Aspergillus niger isolates from coffee beans were capable of producing fumonisins B(2) (FB(2)) and B(4) when grown on Czapek Yeast Agar with 5% NaCl. Small amounts (1-9.7 ng g(-1)) of FB(2) were detected in seven of 12 selected coffee samples after ion-exchange purification and LC-MS/MS detection. Two samples also contained FB(4). This is the first record of freshly isolated A. niger strains producing fumonisins and the first report on the natural occurrence of FB(2) and FB(4) in coffee.

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