MOLECULAR AND PHENOTYPIC CHARACTERIZATION OF ASPERGILLUS-JAPONICUS AND ASPERGILLUS-ACULEATUS STRAINS WITH SPECIAL REGARD TO THEIR MITOCHONDRIAL-DNA POLYMORPHISMS

Forty Aspergillus japonicus and A. aculeatus strains, most of them wil d-type isolates, were examined using various molecular and phenotypic techniques. The rDNAs proved to be invariable (even strains of the spe cies A. aculeatus exhibited the same restriction profile), while the s trains could be classified into seven different mtDNA RFLP groups. Hyb ridisation data suggest that six of these mtDNA types have certain com mon restriction sites, while mtDNA type 7, which was exhibited by some A. aculeatus strains, probably has quite different mtDNA organisation and their size was smallest among the strains studied. The RAPD techn ique and isoenzyme analysis revealed some variabilities within these R FLP groups and strain specific features could also be recognised. Carb on source assimilation spectra were found to be very distinctive for s trains of A. japonicus, A. aculeatus and A. niger, providing a useful tool for pre-characterising new wild-type isolates of black Aspergilli . Only a limited correlation was observed between the dendrograms base d on genotypic and phenotypic characters.