Aspergillus multicolor explained

Aspergillus multicolor is a species of fungus in the genus Aspergillus. It is from the Nidulantes section.^[1] The species was first described in 1954.^[2] It was isolated from forest soil in Somalia.^[2] It has been shown to produce asticolourin A-C, averufin, 5,6-dimethoxydihydrosterigmatocystin, 5,6-dimethoxysterigmatocystin, sterigmatocystin, and versicolourin C.^{[3] [4] [5]}

In 2016, the genome of A. multicolor was sequenced as a part of the Aspergillus whole-genome sequencing project - a project dedicated to performing whole-genome sequencing of all members of the genus Aspergillus.^[6] The genome assembly size was 35.25 Mbp.^[6]

Growth and morphology

Aspergillus multicolor has been cultivated on both Czapek yeast extract agar (CYA) plates and Malt Extract Agar Oxoid (MEAOX) plates. The growth morphology of the colonies can be seen in the pictures below.

Notes and References

1. Chen . A.J.. Frisvad . J.C.. Sun. B.D.. Varga. S.. Kocsubé. S.. Dijksterhuis. J.. Kim. D.H.. Hong. S.-B.. Houbraken. J.. Samson. R.A.. 2016. Aspergillus section Nidulantes (formerly Emericella): Polyphasic taxonomy, chemistry and biology. Studies in Mycology . 84. 1–118. 10.1016/j.simyco.2016.10.001. 28050053. 5198626.
2. Sappa, F. 1954. New species of Aspergilli of forest soils in Italian Somaliland. Allionia. 2(1):79-95
3. Rabie CJ, Simpson TJ, Steyn PS, et al. (1984). Structure and absolute configuration of the asticolorins, toxic metabolites from Aspergillus multi- color. Journal of the Chemical Society Chemical Communications 1984: 764 – 765.
4. Hamasaki T, Nakagomi T, Hatsuda Y, et al. (1977). 5,6- dimethoxysterigmatocystin, a new metabolite from Aspergillus multicolor. Tetrahedron Letters 18: 2765–2766.
5. Hamasaki T, Nakagomi T, Hatsuda Y, et al. (1980). 5,6-dimethoxysterigmatocystin and related metabolites from Aspergillus multi-color. Agricultural and Biological Chemistry 44: 1149–1155.
6. Web site: Home - Aspergillus multicolor v1.0. Mycocosm.jgi.doe.gov. 2 May 2022.