Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #313010
Title: Genomic sequence of the aflatoxigenic filamentous fungus Aspergillus nomius

Author
item Moore, Geromy
item Mack, Brian
item Beltz, Shannon

Submitted to: BMC Genomics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/25/2015
Publication Date: 7/27/2015
Citation: Moore, G.G., Mack, B.M., Beltz, S.B. 2015. Genomic sequence of the aflatoxigenic filamentous fungus Aspergillus nomius. BMC Genomics. 16:551. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-015-1719-6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-015-1719-6

Interpretive Summary: The availability of next-generation sequencing has facilitated the advancement of genomic studies for microbes. The type strain of Aspergillus nomius (NRRL 13137) is an aflatoxigenic fungus whose genome has yet to be sequenced. The importance of understanding this organism, through various genomic comparisons with other aflatoxigenic species, is without question. This article offers information relating to the genome size, gene ontology, phylogenomics, and mating-type for A. nomius.

Technical Abstract: Aspergillus nomius is an opportunistic pathogen and one of the three most important producers of aflatoxins in section Flavi. This fungus has been reported to contaminate agricultural commodities, but it has also been sampled in non-agricultural soils so the host range is not well known. Having a similar mycotoxin profile as A. parasiticus, isolates of A. nomius are capable of secreting B- and G- aflatoxins. In this study we discovered that the A. nomius type strain (NRRL 13137) has a genome size of approximately 36 Mb which is comparable to other Aspergilli whose genomes have been sequenced. Its genome encompasses 11,969 predicted genes, 70% of which were assigned GO terms/categories using gene ontology. More than 1,200 of those predicted genes were inferred as unique to A. nomius, and the most significantly enriched gene products within this fungus are affiliated with oxidoreducatase activity. Phylogenomic inference shows NRRL 13137 as ancestral to the other aflatoxigenic species examined from section Flavi. This strain contains a single mating-type idiomorph designated as MAT1-1. Given the recently discovered potential for A. nomius to undergo sexual recombination, and based on our findings in this study, this genome sequence may be of great value to the aflatoxin research community.