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During a survey of phyllosphere and non-rhizosphere soil fungi of orange plantations in the Assiut area, Egypt, several isolates of species of Aspergillus belonging to the section Usti were isolated at 25°C. These were identified using phenotypic and genotypic characters as Aspergillus porphyreostipitatus and Aspergillus carlsbadensis. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first global records since their original descriptions and indicate their probable wide distribution. The strains of both species could grow at 37°C (a character contrasting to that of the original description of A. carlsbadensis), but both were not able to grow on CYA at 5°C or 45°C or to produce acid on creatine. It is interesting to report that both strains produced the urease enzyme (however weakly in A. porphyreostipitatus) and failed to grow on G25N at 25°C, characters not examined in the original descriptions.

During the mycological analysis of skin and nail samples taken from patients with onychomycosis and tineas in Assiut city, it is interesting to report that yeast fungi were the main causal agents being cultured from 45.79% of total cases. In general, 21 species of yeast were isolated. Some of these are reported for the first time from clinical specimens. From the literature available up-to-date around the world, this study reports for the first time Saccharomycopsis fibuligera as the causal agent of four clinical cases: two onychomycoses, one tinea capitis and one tinea amiantacea. Also, it is reported here the second record for Trichosporon dohaense from a case of onychomycosis of a 40-year-old woman (after its original description in 2009 by Taj-Aldeen et al. J Clin Microbiol 47: 1791). Candida galli was also reported for the first time from clinical specimen (tinea unguium) in 2014 by Galán-Sánchez et al. Mycopathol 178: 303, and this study reports the second case of onychomycosis by C. galli. These strains were identified on the basis of their phenotypic, biochemical, physiological and genotypic features. Strains and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene sequences of these species are deposited at Assiut University Mycological Center Culture Collection (AUMC) and National Center for Biotechnological Information (NCBI) respectively.

An extensive survey of soil mycobiota on citrus and grapevine plantations in Sahel-Saleem City, Assiut Governorate, Egypt was carried out using the dilution-plate method and 2 isolation media at 25°C. Sixty-four genera and 195 species of filamentous fungi and 10 genera and 13 species of yeasts were recovered. A higher diversity (number of genera and species) and gross total counts were recovered from citrus than from grapevine soil. The peak of filamentous fungi recovered from both soils was found to be in February. Aspergillus (45 species) was the most dominant genus; A. ochraceus predominated in citrus plantations, while A. niger and A. aculeatus in grapevine. The Penicillium count came second after Aspergillus in citrus (23 species) and after Aspergillus and Fusarium in grapevine (11 species). Penicillium citrinum, P. ochrochloron and P. olsonii were more common in citrus plantations, but they were replaced by P. oxalicum in grapevine soil. Fusarium (19 species) was represented in 88.9-100% of both soils on both media; F. solani predominated in both soils, while F. incarnatum came next in citrus, and F. babinda and F. oxysporum in grapevine. Humicola (3 species) with the dominant H. fuscoatra was recorded in 61.1-83.3% of soil of both plantations, while Talaromyces (with T. purpureogenus followed by T. pinophilus being the most common) was recorded in 83.3-100% on DRBC and 38.9-50% on DYM from the soil of plantations of both crops. Volutella (5 species) was common in citrus but missing from grapevine soil. The present study reveals that hyaline fungi predominated over dark-coloured ones. Yeasts comprised only minor proportions in both soils (maximum 0.5%). They showed their peak in the soil of citrus plantations in April and in grapevine in February. All species were recovered in one or two samples only. Diutina catenulata, Debaryomyces hansenii, Galactomyces (3 species), Hanseniaspora occidentalis, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Meyerozyma caribbica, and Schwanniomyces pseudopolymorphus were encountered in citrus only, while Cryptococcus laurentii, Pichia kudriavzevii, Meyerozyma guilliermondii and Rhodotorula sp. in grapevine only. Physiological and growth characteristics were obtained for most of the recovered yeasts.

The diversity of yeasts and filamentous fungi in muds from hypersaline alkaline lakes of Wadi El-Natrun and fresh water of the Nile River and Ibrahimia Canal was evaluated. The mean pH of saline water mud was 9.21, but fresh water mud registered 8.07. A total of 193 species (two varieties were distinguished in two of them) belonging to 67 genera were recovered from both muds investigated on DRBC (55 genera, 164 species), DG18 (36 genera, 117 species) and MY50G (23 genera, 76 species) media. From these, 17 species assigned to 12 genera were yeasts and 176 species and 2 varieties assigned to 55 genera were filamentous fungi. The highest numbers of fungal propagules were recovered on DRBC from freshwater mud, while the lowest on MY50G from saline water mud. Yeasts constituted a small proportion of all propagules from the two mud types on all three media, whereas filamentous fungi were the major component. However, freshwater mud samples yielded higher numbers of yeast genera and species using all three media. Candida was common in freshwater mud and rare in saline water mud, while Meyerozyma and Rhodotorula were infrequent in both muds. The remaining yeast species were recovered from freshwater mud only. Aspergillus (46 species) was the most common genus of filamentous fungi encountered in all samples, ranging in frequency from 39.82% to 96.62%; A. terreus, A. flavipes and A. niger dominated in both types of mud. Cladosporium (9 species), Fusarium (8 species), Penicillium (18 species) and Scopulariopsis (7 species) were encountered in both types of mud. Notably, 47 filamentous species were isolated only on the media with lower water activity (DG18, MY50G).

Mycobiota diversity associated with fruits and juices of citrus and grapevine plantations in Assuit Governorate, Egypt were evaluated during the period between April 2008 to February 2009. Identification of fungi was performed using the morphological and microscopical characteristics in addition to the biochemical in case of yeasts. In suspected isolates, molecular techniques were employed to confirm their identification. High counts of yeasts were recorded from the juice of both fruits (almost more than 95 % of total fungi), followed by citrus carposphere and carpoplane where they constituted about one-fifth to one-third of total fungi. High numbers of taxa were recorded from carposphere of both fruits than those recorded from carpoplanes or juices. The peak of total propagules of carposphere fungi was recorded in primordial fruit in citrus and in senescent fruit in grape, while the peaks of carpoplane fungi of both fruits and juices were recorded in mature fruits, while the troughs of all sources were regularly recorded in immature fruits. Aspergillus provided lower count in citrus than in grape carposhere and carpoplane while the reverse was recorded in juice. A. niger predominated in carposphere, carpoplane and juice of both plants, followed by A. aculeatus in all sources from grape and A. brasiliensis in citrus carposphere and carpoplane. Penicillium contributed small proportion of propagules in both plants. P. oxalicum was the most dominant species in all sources from grape but less common in citrus carposphere and carpoplane. P. digitatum and/or P. italicum were recorded in citrus only. Cladosporium contributed the highest counts (41.9 %-59.8 %) of all fungi in boh carpospheres, while contributing minor proportions in carpoplane and juice. It was recorded in high frequency in grape while less frequent in citrus for both carposphere and carpoplane but the reverse was recorded in juices. C. cladosporioides was the most dominant species in grape while C. sphaerospermum was the most dominant in citrus carposphere and carpoplane. The peak of yeast fungi was drawn in mature fruits of both citrus (December), grape carpospheres and carpoplanes; and juices of both fruits (Ocober). Of 22 yeast species recorded, only 2 were recovered from all sources of both plants (Hanseniaspora occidentalis and Issachenkia orientalis), 3 from carposphere, carpoplane and/or juice of citrus only (Candida catenulata, Geotrichum citri-aurantii and Kodemaea ohmeri) and 7 from grape only (Candida prunicola, Rhodosporidium paludigenum, R. diobvatum, Rhodotorula glutinus, Sporidiobolus pararoseus, S. ruinenniae and Sporobolomyces roseus). Ascomyceteous yeasts were dominant over basidiomyceteous ones in all subsrates. Since, mature fruits are succeptable to fungal attack, and almost all juice fungi, including yeasts and filamentous fungi, originated from fruit fungi, precautions during selecting fruits, transportation, handling and juice-making should be taken into accounts.

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