Evolutionary relationships among Aspergillus oryzae and related species based on the sequences of 18S rRNA genes and internal transcribed spacers.

Abstract

The mold Aspergillus oryzae is widely used in Japan as a koji mold for the fermentation of sake, miso, and soy sauce and belongs to the genus Aspergillus section Flavi Aspergillus sojae is also used as a koji mold for soy sauce fermentation. On the other hand, A. flavus, A. parasiticus, and A. nomius are known to commonly infect cereal grains and peanuts; it is also kwown that many of their isolates produce aflatoxins, the carcinogenic secondary metabolites. Many taxonomical studies on these species have been carried out (Gams et al.,