NEOSARTORYA-PSEUDOFISCHERI SP-NOV AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER SPECIES IN ASPERGILLUS SECTION FUMIGATI

Re-examination of some species in the genus Neosartorya was prompted by the receipt of a Neosartorya strain isolated at autopsy from a fungal lesion occurring in human neck vertebrae (although the fungal lesion was not the proximal cause of death). The ascospore morphology of this dinical strain did not match that of any species description, but was identical to that of a strain of Aspergillus fischeri var. thermomutatus ex type. Examination of type material of A. fischeri var. thermomutatus showed that this taxon had been inadequately described. The anamorph is raised to species rank as Aspergillus thermomutatus, and the teleomorph is described as the new species Neosartorya pseudofischeri. Genetic similarity studies were conducted to aid in determining the correct taxonomic rank of the organism.