The Egyptian Ascomycota 1: Genus Aspergillus

1 Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt. 2 Food Technology Department, Arid Lands Cultivation Research Institute (ALCRI), City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Alexandria, Egypt. Microbiology Department, Faculty of Biotechnology, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts, 6 October city, Egypt 4 Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt. 5 Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt. 6 Biodiversity Informatics & Spatial Analysis, Royal Botanic Garden Kew, Richmond, London TW9 3AE, United Kingdom.


Introduction
Members of the genus Aspergillus are cosmopolitan and prevalent components of different ecosystems in a wide range of environmental and climatic zones (Klich 2002;Levic et al. 2013;Abdel-Azeem et al. 2016) because they can colonize a wide variety of substrates. Species belonging to the genus Aspergillus are widely distributed throughout the world biomes e.g. soil (Klich 2002;Abdel-Azeem and Ibrahim 2004;Conley et al. 2006;Jaime-2006;Bonugli-Santos et al. 2015), fossils (Thomas and Poinar 1988;Dörfelt and Schmidt 2005) and human (Horré et al. 2010;Marguet et al. 2012;Findley et al. 2013;Hallen-Adams and Suhr 2017).
The genus Aspergillus includes more than 340 species both pathogenic and beneficial species Abdel-Azeem et al. 2016). Several species are pathogenic to plants, animals, and humans (e.g., A. fumigatus, A. terreus) and/or produce different types of toxins, such as aflatoxins and ochratoxins (e.g., A. flavus, A. ochraceous). On the other hand, several species are widely used in different industrial applications e.g. production of foods, drinks, organic acids, and a large variety of enzymes (e.g., A. niger, A. aculeatus, A. oryzae). The broad relevance and economic importance of the genus have pushed it to the forefront of fungal research, with one of the largest academic and industrial research communities dedicated to this genus .
Global natural hypersaline waters characterized by certain taxa mainly of Aspergillus niger and A. caesiellus, while hypersaline localities at higher environmental temperature degrees characterized by primarily or exclusively taxa of A. ochraceus, A. flavus, A. roseoglobulosus, and A. tubingensis (Abdel-Azeem et al. 2016). Aspergillus fumigatus is common in arid environments (deserts) at high temperatures, and has been found consistently in solar salterns, although it is also most abundant at salinities below 10% NaCl (Moustafa 1975;El-Dohlob and Migahed 1985;Moubasher et al. 1990a;Abdel-Azeem 2003;Abdullah et al. 2010;Butinar et al. 2011;Balbool et al. 2013). The new taxa of soil representative of Emericella in Egypt were isolated also from desert saline soil as mentioned before Mouchacca 1974, 1975).
In many parts of Egypt, several investigators studied soil fungi from cultivated soil e.g. (Abdel-Hafez 1974;Moubasher and Abdel-Hafez 1978a;Abdel-Azeem 2003). They found taxa belonging to Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Mucor, and some dematiaceous Hyphomycetes were the most common in various types of Egyptian soils. Mazen et al. (1984) studied the fluctuation of soil fungi in wheat fields and found that the most common fungi isolated were Aspergillus represented by five species Aspergillus niger, A. terreus, A. fumigatus, A. flavus, and A. versicolor. Abdel-Hafez et al. (2000) isolated 118 species in addition to seven varieties belonging to 51 genera from cultivated and desert soils in Egypt. The results obtained from the threesoil type were basically similar, and the most common Aspergillus species were A. flavus, A. flavus var. columnaris, A. fumigatus, A. niger, Aspergillus sydowii and A. terreus. Hafez (2012) made an ecological comparison on soil and rhizospheric fungi of maize and wheat plants in different areas in Minia Governorate in Egypt. She isolated twentyeight fungal species from wheat belonging to 18 genera and 13 species from maize belonging to 9 genera. Aspergillus was the most dominant in both rhizospheric and nonrhizospheric soils, represented by 4 species; A. niger, A. terreus, A. flavus and A. ustus. Fusaria and other fungi associated with rhizosphere and rhizoplane of lentil and sesame at different growth stages from cultivated soil in Egypt have been studied by Abdel-Hafez et al. (2012).They isolated sixteen Fusarium species and three Aspergillus species (A. flavus, A. niger and A. ochraceous). Abdel-Azeem et al. (2007) studied the effects of longterm heavy metal contamination on diversity of terricolous fungi and nematodes in agroecosystem in Egypt as a case study. They collected 100 soil samples in a randomized way to represent different stages of land reclamation during the period from September (2004) to February (2005). These profiles represented different land use periods of 0 to 20 years. Isolated species belonged to 21 genera. The prevailing genera were Aspergillus (12 species including anamorph stages of one Emericella and one Eurotium species; 52.63% of the total isolates). The most abundant species were: A. niger var. niger (21.15% of the total isolate number), Trichoderma pseudokoningii (12.65%), A. flavus (9.4%) and A. fumigatus (8.63%).
The mycobiota composition of the mangrove soil located in the coastal area at Red Sea in Egypt was investigated in twenty-four soil samples collected by Khalil et al. (2013). Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, A. versicolor, and A. fumigatus, recorded high species frequency in more than 15 cases out of twenty-four. Abdel-Azeem et al. (2015) studied the occurrence and diversity of mycobiota in heavy metal contaminated sediments of Mediterranean coastal lagoon El-Manzala, Egypt. They found that the prevailing genera were Aspergillus (11 species including anamorph stages of two Emericella species; 36.66% of the total isolates), Penicillium (4 species including anamorph of Talaromyces; 13.33%) and the remaining taxa were represented only by two to one species each. Aspergillus niger, A. flavus and A. terreus that showed the highest percentage of frequency of occurrence. Mustafa et al. (2013) exploited some Egyptian endophytic taxa for extracellular biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles. They isolated endophytic fungi from medicinal plants in arid Sinai. Their results showed that Zygomycota represented by two species (9.5% of the total species number), teleomorphic Ascomycota (3 species, 14.2%), anamorphic Ascomycota (16 species, 76.19%). The prevailing genera were Aspergillus (3 species including anamorph stages of one Eurotium species; 14.28% of the total isolates), and Alternaria (2 species, 9.5%). The remaining taxa were represented only by one species each. The most abundant species were: Alternaria alternata (41.6 %), Nigrospora oryzae (38.3 %) and Chaetomium globosum (11.1 %). A total 13 species belonging to 11 genera were screened for the production of AgNPs. They recorded that Aspergillus niger synthesized AgNPs in a moderate rate in comparison with other taxa.
Balbool and Abdel-Azeem (2020) studied the diversity of the culturable endophytic fungi producing Lasparaginase in arid Sinai, Egypt. They recovered endophytic fungi from 23 plant species, and only four Aspergillus species; A. niger, A. flavus, A. terreus and A. nidulans, were recoverd In Egypt, Abdel-Azeem and Rashad (2013) studied mycobiota of outdoor air that can cause asthma: a case study from Lake Manzala, Egypt. They isolated a total of 71780 mould-and 560 yeast colony-forming units from 600 exposures and the isolated taxa were assigned to 28 genera and 43 species. They found that the greater presence of fungal spores occurred in the summer. Aspergillus niger, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Epicoccum nigrum, Aureobasidium pullulans, Alternaria cheiranthi, Penicillium chrysogenum, A. fumigatus and Alternaria alternata were the predominant species. They found that Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Alternaria had the greatest frequencies in air of Lake Manzala which strongly associated with allergic respiratory disease, especially asthma, in Port Said and Ismailia Governorates. Kowalik and Sadurska (1973) studied the microflora (microbiota) of papyrus from samples of Cairo Museum. They recovered five species of Aspergillus; A. amstelodami, A. niger, A. restrictus, A. tamarii and A. terreus. Mummies have been widely investigated by phenotypic and molecular techniques particularly the study of ancient bacteria and micromycetes. There are several well-known examples showing the colonization of preserved bodies by opportunistic fungi, such as the case of the restoration of the body of Ramses II, performed in Paris in 1976-77. The mummy showed a dense fungal population with species belonging to the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium (Mouchacca 1985). In his study, Mouchacca isolated 21 species and one variety of Aspergillus from debris (D) and abdominal materials (A) of Ramses II mummy. The most common species of D and A were; A. niger, A. flavus, A. versicolor, A. sydowii, A. amstelodami and A. restrictus. Aspergilli also dominated the microbial communities of the air and dust of the Egyptian mummy chamber at the Baroda Museum in India (Arya et al. 2001). Zidan et al. (2006) studied the conservation of a wooden Graeco-Roman coffin box and they isolated Paecilomyces variotii, Penicillium aurantiogriseum, A. niger, A. flavus, A. terreus, Emericella nidulans and Mucor racemosus. These fungi were found in various parts of the coffin box, and their growth rate varied from one part to the other. Aspergillus candidus, A. ustus and A. terreus were isolated from two wooden masks dating back to the Greek-Roman period in Egypt (Darwish et al. 2013).
Abdel-Azeem et al. (2019) characterized the biodegradation that has taken place in excavated wooden objects from Abydos middle cemetery. They elucidated the type of wood degradation present, obtained information on soil properties at the site and identify fungi currently associated with the wood and soils. They recovered four species and one variety namely; Aspergillus flavus var. oryzae, A. terreus, A. niger, A. flavus and A. fumigatus from wood samples. From soil they recovered five species namely; Aspergillus flavus, A. fumigatus, A. niger, A. ochraceus and A. terreus. Isolation and identification of mycobiota contaminants in Egyptian raw milk and various dairy products collected from different governorates were conducted by many researchers. Aspergillus sp. were recovered from Egyptian raw milk by (El-kest et al. 2015), the most common identified species were; A. flavus, A. niger, A. fumigatus, A. ochraceus, A. oryzae, A. parasiticus, A. restrictus, A. terreus and A. versicolor (Hegazy et al. 2014;Younis et al. 2016). Younis et al. (2016) isolated A. flavus, A. niger from milk powder, which was supported by Yassein et al. (2020) who reported existence of A. niger and A. terreus as well.
Ras cheese (Romy) is the main traditional hard cheese in Egypt, it is manufactured in a high proportion under artisan conditions from raw milk and marketing when reaches a queried sharp flavour after 3 to 6 months.
White cheeses with different verities compromise an important part of the Egyptian diet. Karish, Kariesh, or Kareish cheese is one of the most popular soft fresh skimmed milk, oldest cheese variety in Egypt and Arab countries (Abou-Donia 2008;Allam et al. 2017a).
About 90% of the Karish cheese produced using primitive methods in the rural districts in Egypt; this traditional method affords many opportunities for microbial contamination. It is generally made from raw milk often of poor bacteriological quality, under unsatisfactory conditions, and sold uncovered without a container. Therefore, there is high risk of contamination and can be considered as a good medium for the growth of different types of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms including yeasts and molds (Allam et al. 2017b). Various species of Aspergillus were reported to recover from Karish cheese samples such as; A. flavus (El-Diasty and Salem 2007;Younis et al. 2016;Moharram et al. 2018;Moubasher et al. 2018c), A. fumigatus (ELbagory et al. 2014Hameed 2016;Moharram et al. 2018), A. niger (El-Diasty andSalem 2007;Hameed 2016;Younis et al. 2016;Moharram et al. 2018;Moubasher et al. 2018c), A. nidulans (Moharram et al. 2018) andA. terreus (ELbagory et al. 2014;Hameed 2016;Moharram et al. 2018).
White brined (pickled) cheese is a widespread cheese group produced in many varieties in hot countries such as Domiati (originated in Egypt) and Feta (originated in Greece). White brined cheese is suitable for hot climates as it is actually stored in a concentrated brine (4 to 10-W%NaCl) (Fox 1993). Nevertheless, Domiati cheese harbored number of fungi species including Aspergillis species such as; A. fumigatus (Hegazy et al. 2014) and A. niger (Hameed 2016). Egyptian Feta showed presence of Aspergillis species as well such as; A. flavus (Barakat et al. 2019;Ahmed et al. 2020), A. fumigatus, A. terreus (Hameed 2016), A. niger (Hameed 2016;Barakat et al. 2019;Ahmed et al. 2020) and A. versicolor (Hameed 2016;Barakat et al. 2019). Istanboli cheese (named after Istanbol, Turkey), is crumbly, fresh white cheese that has a delicate flavor lifted by spicy notes from being studded with Jalapeno chilies. Aspergiluus sp. isolated from Egyptian Istanboli cheese were; A. candidus, A. fumigatus, A. nidulans isolated as Emericella nidulans (Bassuony et al. 2012), A. flavus, A. nomius (Khalifa et al. 2013), A. niger andA. ochraceus (Bassuony et al. 2012;Khalifa et al. 2013). Akawi or Akawieh belongs to the group of fresh cheeses named after Akka, Palastine. It is a soft cheese made from whole goats', sheep's or cows' milk. The process used to make Akawieh is similar to that used for white cheese (Fox 1993). El-kest et al. (2015) reported isolation of Aspergillus sp. from Akawi cheese. Aspergillus was reported in other types of Egyptian white cheeses; Moharram et al. (2018) reported existence of A. carneus, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. niger, A. nidulans, A. sulphureus, A. sydowii and A. terreus in soft cheese. In white cheese; A. flavus, A. ochraceus (Hegazy et al. 2014; El-Badry and Raslan 2016), A. fumigatus, A. japonicas, A. terreus (Hegazy et al. 2014), A. niger and A. parasiticus (El-Badry and Raslan 2016), were reported. Tallaga cheese (refrigerator in Arabic), is another popular local type of packaged or unpackaged fresh soft cheeses by all socioeconomic classes in Egypt closely related to Domiati cheese and mainly ready for consumption within one month of storage at refrigerator temperature (El-Kholy et al. 2016). ELbagory et al. (2014) reported recovery of A. flavus, A. fumigatus and A. terreus of Tallaga cheese. Moubasher et al. (1978), reported Aspergillus sp. associated in Egyptian Roquefort cheese including; A. fumigatus, A. niger A. tamarii and A. versicolor. Pasteurized processed cheese products are cheese-based foods produced by comminuting, blending and melting one or more natural cheeses and optional ingredients into a smooth homogeneous blend with the aid of heat, mechanical shear and emulsifying salts (McSweeney 2007). Aspergillus sp. isolated from Egyptian processed cheese were; A. flavus (Hassanin 1993;ELbagory et al. 2014;Barakat et al. 2019;Ahmed et al. 2020), A. fumigatus (ELbagory et al. 2014Hameed 2016;Barakat et al. 2019), A. niger (Hassanin 1993Hameed 2016;Barakat et al. 2019;Ahmed et al. 2020), A. terreus (ELbagory et al. 2014Hameed 2016) and A. versicolor (Barakat et al. 2019).
Yoghurt is one of the most popular dairy products worldwide, which has gained a positive perception as a healthy and natural product (El-Kholy et al. 2019). Aspergillus species isolated from yoghurt in Egypt were; A. flavus, A. niger, A. terreus (Khalifa et al. 2013;Barakat et al. 2019), A. ochraceus (Khalifa et al. 2013) and A. versicolor (Barakat et al. 2019). Two Aspergillus species were reported to exist in butter; A. flavus and A. niger (El-Diasty and Salem 2007;Moubasher et al. 2018c). Dairy desserts are nutritious inexpensive dairy food prepared from milk as base constituent and cereals which considered a proper medium for fungi growth and aflatoxins production. Mahalabia, Rice Milk, Custard and Bellila are the most consumed dairy desserts in Egypt. Khalifa and Shata (2018)  Cerelac, cornflakes and milk powder are the most consumed baby foods, so it is necessary to examine their validity. Aspergillus sp. isolated from milk powder were; A. niger (Younis et al. 2016;Yassein et al. 2020), A. terreus (Yassein et al. 2020), A. flavus (Younis et al. 2016). Yassein et al. (2020) isolated A. flavus, A. niger, A. fumigatus, A. ochraceus, A. terreus (Cerelac and cornflakes), A. nidulans isolated as Emericella nidulans (Cerelac), A. sydowii and A. versicolor (cornflakes).
Despitethe damage that Aspergillus can cause to human-being, it can also be a very promising species for many pharmaceutical leads. Some of Egyptian researchers extracted many beneficial compounds from Aspergillus metabolites e.g. quinazoline alkaloids extracted from A. nomius with antioxidant and anti-tumor activity (Ali et al. 2017). Also, A. fumigatus isolate R7 exhibited high antimicrobial activity (Shaaban et al. 2013). Awaad et al. (2017) recovered Amhezole, a novel fungal secondary metabolite, from A. terreus for treatment of microbial mouth infection. The isolated compound and the total alcoholic extract of A. terreus showed a remarkable activity against microbial mouth infections;, Candida albicans, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Streptococcus gordonii, and S. mutan.
Aspergillus terreus dominated the biological production of the "blockbuster" drugs known as statins. The statins are a class of drugs that inhibit HMG-CoA reductase and lead to lower cholesterol production (Subhan et al. 2016).

Taxonomy
Aspergillus is traditionally classified based on morphological characteristics, such as the size and arrangement of the Aspergillary heads, the color of the conidia, the growth rate in different media and physiological characteristics.
According to these morphological characteristics, Raper and Fennell (1965) divided the genus Aspergillus into 18 groups. However, because this classification did not have any status in the nomenclature, Gams et al. (1986) introduced the use of Aspergillus subgenera and sections.
These studies showed that the groups organized by Raper and Fennell (1965), which were based on phenotypic characteristics, largely coincide with the current classifications. However, due to morphological variations in several sections resulted in controversial taxonomic groups, polyphasic identification was used, which involves the morphological, physiological, molecular and ecological characterization of a species (Samson et al. 2007). Peterson (2008) Varga et al. (2010), based on multilocal sequence typing (using β-tubulin, calmodulin and the intergenic spacing regions [ITS] region), added the subgenus Nidulantes to the Aenei section.
Subsequently, based on different studies (Peterson 2008;Peterson et al. 2008;Varga et al. 2010;Houbraken and Samson 2011), a new classification was proposed for the genus Aspergillus that included four subgenres and 19 sections in which the subgenera Ornati and Warcupi were transferred to other genera, since they did not belong to the genus Aspergillus. Similarly, the Cremei section, which had been classified into the subgenus Aspergillus (Peterson 2008), was reclassified into the subgenus Circumdati by Houbraken and Samson (2011) ). Finally, the current classification consists of six subgenera (Aspergillus, Circumdati, Cremei, Fumigati, Nidulantes and Polypaecilum) and more than 20 sections Hubka et al. 2015;Gautier et al. 2016;Tsang et al. 2018). Recently some sections produced teleomorphic phase like Nigeri (Horn et al. 2013) and Terrei (Arabatzis and Velegraki 2013).

Morphology
Morphology forms represent an important part of the species concept of Aspergillus. Colony characters used for species characterization include; colony growth rates, texture, degree of sporulation, production of sclerotia or cleistothecia, colours of mycelia, sporulation, soluble pigments, exudates, colony reverses, sclerotia, Hülle-cells and cleistothecia. Both sexual and asexual reproduction occurs in Aspergillus and the microscopic features of these structures are important.
Diagnostic conidiophore characters include; the shape of conidial heads, the presence or absence of metulae between vesicle and phialides (i.e. uniseriate or biseriate), colour of stipes, and the dimension, shape and texture of stipes, vesicles, metulae (when present), phialides, conidia and Hülle-cells (when present). The same applies for cleistothecia, asci and ascospores. For cleistothecia (ascocarps); the development of ascomata and the way their walls are produced is also an taxonomic character. Ascospore sizes, morphology, particularly the often-diagnostic ornamentation (roughening, rims, wings, furrows, etc.), are considered important criteria for identifying species. Media, inoculation technique and incubation conditions affect morphological characters (Okuda 1994;Okuda et al. 2000). Samson et al. (2014) recommend the following standardized method for laboratories working on Aspergillus as shown in figure (2).
This study aims to decoument species diversity of genus Aspergillus in Egypt since 1921. Therefore, it should be mentioned here that, although the present study will add some new data to our information concerning the Ascomycota of Egypt, this updated check-list must be considered as a provisional one always waiting for continuous supplementation.

Study area
Egypt's geographical position at the junction between two large continents (Africa and Asia), and its inclusion as part of the Mediterranean basin, has indelibly influenced both the people and the biota of the country socially, economically and biologically. Egypt is a part of the Sahara of North Africa and has an area of about 1 M km 2 , divided by the River Nile into; a western part including the Libyan Desert (681000 km 2 ) and an eastern part comprising the Eastern Desert (223000 km 2 ), and the Sinai Peninsula (61000 km 2 ). The Nile basin, comprising the valley in the south (Upper Egypt) and Nile delta in the north (Lower Egypt), forms a riparian oasis (40000 km 2 ) that constitutes the densely inhabited farmlands of Egypt (Abdel-Azeem and Salem 2013).

Data Collection
The species listed here were compiled mainly from previous studies as well as information obtained from web sites, compilations, and check-lists of Egyptian fungi previously introduced by several investigators (Reichert 1921;Melchers 1931;El-Abyad and Abu-Taleb 1993;Moubasher 1993;Mouchacca 1995Mouchacca , 1999Mouchacca , 2005; El-Abyad 1997; Abdel-Azeem 2010; Moustafa and Abdel-Azeem 2011;Soliman 2016). This study extended to more than eighteen years in documenting and updating the information on Egyptian Aspergilli. A main list of Aspergillus in Egypt was developed, and the taxa are given in alphabetical order within their sections. Name corrections, authorities, and taxonomic assignments of all taxa reported, were checked against the Index Fungorum Partnership (IFP 2020) and IMI database (IMI 2020). A provisional key to the identification of reported taxa is given.

Statistical analyses
Collected data were handled and checked for normality using Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk at 0.05 level to check whether data are parametric or nonparametric. Data were analysedanalyzed using nonparametric data analysis chi-squared and Kruskal-Wallis at 0.05 level (Paulson 2008;Aljandali 2016).
The records are reviewed and are enumerated below in alphabetical and hierarchical order. Species of each group are given in a taxonomic sequence and accepted names are highlighted in bold. Classification of subgenus and section were followed relevant references e.g. (Klich 2002;Samson and Varga 2010;Varga et al. 2010;Samson et al. 2014;Visagie et al. 2014;Hubka et al. 2015;Frisvad et al. 2019).
A total of 150 species belonging to 25 sections of Aspergillus were recorded (Table 2, Figure 3). Six different subgenera were recognized with 25 highly significant difference in number of sections (p=0.003**).
The Nidulantes and Circumdati subgenera were represented by10 and 8 sections as the maximum number of sections among all recognized Aspergillus subgenera. The twenty-five sections were represented by 150 significantly different species (p=0.015*) and percentage (p=0.015*) as revealed by Chi-squared test statistics.

Key to the Aspergillus taxa recorded in Egypt Subgeneric classification of Aspergillus taxa in Egypt
Subgenus Aspergillus -Uniseriate, xerophilic species, conidiophore stipes smooth-walled, hyaline or brownish or greenish. Vesicles slightly inflated to subglobose, fertile in the upper half. Conidial masses mostly in shades of green, yellow cleistothecia.
Subgenus Cremei -Uniseriate or biseriate, conidia en masse grey-green to yellow brown, globose to subglobose, metulae and phialides produced synchronously, except in A. inflatus, where they are produced successively, cream to buff cleistothecia, species are moderately osmophilic and halophilic.

Section 3: Assiuti
Section Assiuti containing species of fast growing, whitish-creamish colonies; not able to grow at 45 o C; with uniseriate, globose to radiate conidial heads; smooth stipes, hyaline and thick-walled vesicles and conidiophore stipes; and pyriform to elongate when young to globose or subglobose conidia at maturity. The section contains only one species, A. assiutensis. Fast-growing whitish colonies, uniseriate conidiogenous cells, globose to radiate heads, thick-walled stipes and vesicles, pyriform to elongate conidia when young and globose to subglobose at maturity. For more details please consult Moubasher and Soliman (2011).

Section 4: Candidi
Section Candidi containing slow growing colonies with globose conidial heads having white to yellowish conidia, conidiophores smooth, small conidiophores common, metulae present and covering the entire vesicle, some large Aspergillus heads with large metulae, presence of diminutive heads in all species, conidia smooth or nearly so with a subglobose to ovoid shape, and the presence of sclerotia.

Section 5: Circumdati
Aspergillus section Circumdati or the Aspergillus ochraceus group, includes species with biseriate conidial heads, rough walled stipes, biseriate conidial heads, yellow to ochre conidia and sclerotia that do not turn black.

Section 8: Jani
Section Jani species produce three types of conidiophores and conidia, and colonies have green and white sectors making them distinctive.
I. Conidial heads of two colors; green or white, vesicles of green and white heads dissimilar, vesicles of white heads conspicuously clavate, 45 to 60 μm by 15 to 18 μm, borne on long conidiophores usually exceeding 2mm in length, smaller dark green heads borne upon short conidiophores with typically ovate vesicles…….………..…….……A. janus

Section 9: Nigri
The black aspergilli (Aspergillus section Nigri; Gams et al. 1986) are an important group of species in food mycology, medical mycology and biotechnology. Many species cause food spoilage, but on the other hand are also used in the fermentation industry to produce hydrolytic enzymes, such as amylases or lipases, and organic acids, such as citric acid and gluconic acid (Varga et al. 2000). Conidiophore stipes smooth and hyaline or pigmented below the vesicle. Vesicles globose or nearly so, sometimes dark brown. Metulae present or absent, often pigmented. Conidial heads typically radiate (in some species in divergent columns), conidial masses in shades of black.

Aspergillus bisporus
Species is characterized by production of two conidial heads in low water activity medium (DG18), conidial heads with uniseriate phialides bearing short chains of large, globose, black, coarsely dentate conidia. The second type of conidial structure long, light-olivish conidial chains consisting of smooth to slightly rough, globose to elliptical conidia.

Section 19: Ochraceorosei
Section containing species not able to grow at 37 o C, producing yellow ellipsoidal conidia, biseriate conidial heads, long conidiophore stipes that are smooth. Only one recorded problematic species in Egypt.

Section 20: Silvati
Section containing species, producing conidial structures in deep forest green shades near dusky yellow green; reverse in buff to flesh pink shades; exudate limited, colorless. Conidial heads in rich yellow green shades, long brown conidiophores.

Conclusion
The present work is considered the first list of genus Aspergillus in Egypt recovered from; soil (cultivated, salt marsh, desert, reclaimed), plants, insects, air, seaweeds, herbivore dung, mangroves, aquatic habitats, stored seeds and grains, deteriorated archeological woods, plant roots and dairy products. Subgenus Polypaecilum not recorded till now in Egypt. Therefore, it should be kept in mind that, although the present study will add some new data to our information concerning the Egyptian fungi, this updated check-list must be considered as a provisional one always waiting for continuous supplementation. Finally, we suggested nomenclature and classification of the Genus Aspergillus in Egypt into two subgenera as follow: 1. Anamorphic subgenus Aspergillus I contains 11 sections that have unknown teleomorphs up till now namely: Assiuti, Bispori, Cavernicolus, Cervini, Candidi, Jani, Ochraceorosei, Raperi, Silvati, Sparsi and Versicolores. 2. Teleomorphic subgenus Aspergillus II contains 14 sections that have teleomorphs, recently updated, namely: Aenei, Aspergilli, Circumdati, Clavati, Cremei, Flavi, Flavipedes, Fumigati, Nidulantes, Nigri, Ornati, Restricti, Terrei and Usti.