Researchers investigate the connections between Aspergillus species, demonstrating their usefulness for producing biofuels and bioproducts.
Biological and Environmental Research
September 25, 2025
minute read time
The Science
Aspergillus is a genus of fungi that includes several important species. Some species are important in industry, while scientists use others as model organisms for research. Certain Aspergillus species can produce a wide range of enzymes and industrially relevant compounds. However, much of the Aspergillus genus has not been explored in detail. Scientists have been investigating these species to learn more about their genetic and biochemical diversity. Researchers analyzed specific sections of Aspergillus to learn more about the genus as a whole and better understand potential applications.
The Impact
Researchers sequenced the genomes of 13 Aspergillus species and compared them to 16 others. Their findings confirmed the sorting of some species into certain sections of the genus. They found that one section of species has several unique characteristics. These characteristics include having a large, information-rich genome and the ability to make a breadth of enzymes that break down plant material. These features make these species useful for industrial applications, such as producing biofuels and bioproducts from plants.
Summary
Researchers sequenced, assembled and annotated 13 Aspergillus species genomes from three sections: Cavernicolus, Usti, and Nidulantes. Overall, they found that there is a great deal of diversity in the genus as a whole. This diversity shows up not only in genome sizes, but also in genomes’ transposable elements and types of enzymes they can produce.
To validate the proposed membership of sections Cavernicolus and Usti, the researchers created a maximum likelihood tree to show how closely related species are to each other. This tree confirmed the proposed section constituents. However, scientists surprisingly found that Caverniculous is more closely related to Nidulantes, rather than Usti. This finding contrasts with previously reported results.
The researchers also found that these three Aspergillus sections encode higher numbers of CAZymes than almost all the other species they analyzed. CAZymes play a crucial role in the breakdown of plant material. This characteristic makes these enzymes useful for producing biofuels and bioproducts. In particular, sections Usti and Caverniculous had a very high number of CAZymes. Usti contained some that are not found in other sections. This confirmed that section Usti is an underutilized species for producing novel enzymes for biotechnology.
By taking a deeper look at these Aspergillus species, researchers illuminated the genetic diversity within the genus, the relation of different sections to each other, and how these species can be used for biomanufacturing applications.
Contact
Scott E. Baker
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
scott.baker@pnnl.gov
Funding
This work was supported by the Joint BioEnergy Institute and the U.S. DOE Joint Genome Institute (a DOE Office of Science User Facility), both supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Biological and Environmental Research program. Additional support was provided by the Villum Foundation, the Danish National Research Foundation, the Novo-Nordisk Foundation, and the Research Council of Finland.
Publication
Nybo, J.L., Vesth, T.C., Theobald, S., et al. Section-level genome sequencing and comparative genomics of Aspergillus sections Cavernicolus and Usti. Studies in Mycology,111, 101 (2025). [DOI: 10.3114/sim.2025.111.03]