page_title: Aspergillus
section_title: Research
hierarchical_section_title: Aspergillus / Research
caption_attribution_description: English: Scan of mold aspergillus at 235 magnifications under a scanning electron microscope.
context_page_description: Aspergillus is a genus consisting of a few hundred mould species found in various climates worldwide.
  Aspergillus was first catalogued in 1729 by the Italian priest and biologist Pier Antonio Micheli. Viewing the fungi under a microscope, Micheli was reminded of the shape of an aspergillum, from Latin spargere, and named the genus accordingly. Aspergillum is an asexual spore-forming structure common to all Aspergillus species; around one-third of species are also known to have a sexual stage.
  Aspergillus can be eliminated from homes with the help of either rubbing alcohol or by using strong air purifiers to eliminate the effects on the lungs.
context_section_description: A. nidulans (Emericella nidulans) has been used as a research organism for many years and was used by Guido Pontecorvo to demonstrate parasexuality in fungi. Recently, A. nidulans was one of the pioneering organisms to have its genome sequenced by researchers at the Broad Institute. As of 2008, a further seven Aspergillus species have had their genomes sequenced: the industrially useful A. niger (two strains), A. oryzae, and A. terreus, and the pathogens A. clavatus, A. fischerianus (Neosartorya fischeri), A. flavus, and A. fumigatus (two strains).  A. fischerianus is hardly ever pathogenic, but is very closely related to the common pathogen A. fumigatus; it was sequenced in part to better understand A. fumigatus pathogenicity.
caption: A scan of Aspergillus taken at 235 magnifications under a scanning electron microscope
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