RECLASSIFICATION OF THE PENICILLIUM-ROQUEFORTI GROUP INTO 3 SPECIES ON THE BASIS OF MOLECULAR-GENETIC AND BIOCHEMICAL PROFILES

Penicillium roqueforti is currently divided into two varieties, one us ed for cheese starter cultures, P. roqueforti var. roqueforti, and one ubiquitous patulin-producing variety. P. roqueforti var. carneum. The ribosomal regions comprising the 5.8S gene and the internal transcrib ed spacers. ITS I and ITS II, have been analysed from 10 isolates belo nging to each variety. The 10 P. roqueforti var. carneum isolates were separated into two groups of five on the basis of 12 base-pair differ ences in the ITS regions. One of the groups of P. roqueforti var. carn eum, in the following designated P. carneum, differed from P. roquefor ti var. roqueforti, here designated P. roqueforti, in just two positio ns, while the other group, here called P. paneum, differed from P. roq ueforti in 12 positions. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analy sis substantiated these findings. and a comparison of secondary metabo lites produced by the three groups showed that the P. roqueforti isola tes all produce Penicillium Roqueforti (PR) toxin, marcfortines and fu migaclavine A, while the P. carneum isolates produce patulin, penitrem A and mycophenolic acid, as well as unidentified metabolites. P. pane um produces secondary metabolites in five chromophore families includi ng the known mycotoxins patulin and botryodiploidin. On the basis of t hese findings it is proposed that P. roqueforti is reclassified into t hree species named P. roqueforti, P. carneum and P. paneum.