Polyphasic taxonomy of Penicillium subgenus Penicillium A ... - CBS

J.C. FRISVAD &R.A.SAMSONTable 4. Penicillium species and their specific habitatsTypical habitat* SpeciesIndoor air P. brevicompactum, P. chrysogenum, P. commune, P. polonicum. P. expansum, P. olsonii,pomaceous fruit P. expansum, P. crustosum, P. solitumcitrusP. italicaum, P. digitatum, P. ulaiensenutsP. discoloronionsP. radicicola, P. albocoremium, P. alliibulbs and roots P. tulipae, P. hirsutum, P. venetum , P. gladiolisilageP. paneum, P. carneummushrooms P. brevicompactumcheese hard P. commune, P. discolorcheese soft P. camemberti, P. roqueforti, P. caseifulvum,breadP. roqueforti P. paneum, P. carneumsalami & ham P. nalgiovense, P. nordicumcereal grains P. hordei, P. verrucosum, P. cyclopium, P. freii, P. tricolor,oakP. glandicoladungP. coprophilum, P. coprobium, P. concentricum, P. vulpinum, P. formosanum, P. clavigerumsoilP. persicinum,* Listed are the typical habitats of the species. For a more detailed description of occurrence see the text.Strong associationsP. italicum and P. ulaiense in series Italica and P.digitatum in series Digitata are strongly associated tocitrus fruits. There is no strong evidence they areassociated to any other plant products, although theyare occasionally reported from soil and plant roots orstems. This may be caused by cross contaminationfrom P. digitatum spoiling citrus fruits. When thesefruits are spoiled a large number of air-borne conidiaare produced. Fungi isolated directly from citrus fruitsrots are most probably one of the three species listedabove, and the same species are unlikely to thrive onany other substrate.P. sclerotigenum has only been found in associationwith yam tubers and yam flour (Discorea batatasand D. cayenensis). It appears to be strictly associatedto this particular habitat.P. gladioli has only been found on Gladiolusbulbs, but has not been reported since 1970. We wereunsuccesful to isolate this species in Europe in spiteour extensive efforts. Perhaps new ways of protectingflower bulbs from diseases have eradicated the species.P. tulipae is primarily associated to Tulipa, but ithas also been found on other flower bulbs such asChrysanthemum and Lilium. It is also occasionallyassociated to other plant roots. P. hirsutum has beenfound on some of the same bulbs, but appears to beless strictly associated to plant roots, because it hasalso been found on butter and apples. However crosscontaminationfrom plant roots cannot be excluded. P.venetum is most often found on roots of Iris, Hyacinthusand Ornithogalum, but has also been found onAsparagus.P. allii is a very common garlic rotting organismwhile P. albocoremium and P. radicicola are commonlyfound on other Allium spp., especially Alliumcepa. However the latter two species are also commonon other plant roots often used for human food.34P. verrucosum, P. hordei, and all members ofseries Viridicata are all typically associated to storedcereal grains. There may be a tendency of P. viridicatum,P. melanoconidium, P. aurantiogriseum and P.polonicum to grow on corn and wheat in warmerclimates and for P. cyclopium, P. freii, P. verrucosum,P. tricolor and P. hordei to thrive in colder climatesespecially on barley and wheat. P. neoechinulatumfrom Series Viridicata however, has until now onlybeen found on seeds gathered by kangaroo rats in theSonoran desert. P. polonicum, P. aurantiogriseum andP. viridicatum may also cross-contaminate dried meatproducts, such as salami. The contamination sourcemay be wheat flour.P. glandicola have only been reliably been recordedfrom oak trees, acorns and cork and appears tobe strictly associated to Quercus spp. The speciesname is thus well chosen. Its occasional occurrence insoil and in guts of deer may easily be explained by itsassociation to oak trees.P. roqueforti, P. carneum and P. paneum haveonly been found on substrates in which lactic acidbacteria have grown, or substrates that have the samecharacteristics. The substrates may have been preservedwith organic acids that are quite similar tolactic acid, including sorbic acid, benzoic acid, propionicacid and acetic acid, or they may contain somealcohol and/or they may have high CO 2 or low O 2content. Examples are rye bread, yoghurt, cheese orsilage (Boysen et al., 1996; Lund et al., 1996)P. camemberti, P. caseifulvum, P. commune, P.palitans and P. atramentosum appear to be mostlyassociated to cheese and other milk products (Lund etal., 1995). P. commune and P. palitans have also beenreported from dried meat products and nuts, but aremuch less common on such substrates. P. atramentosumhas been found on Norwegian gamalost and onother cheeses, but is much more prevalent in alkalinesoils (Kubatová, 1990). We have found it to be domi-