THE ASPERGILLUS WENTII GROUP 249 



Aspergillus wetitii var. minimus Xakazawa, Takeda, Okada, and Si mo (Jour. 

 Agr. Chem. Soc. Japan 10(2) : 176-177. 1934) shows measurements varying somewhat 

 from those of the species and from those given by Blochwitz, but it is not sufficiently 

 marked to warrant separation. 



Sterigmatocystis aerect Bainier (Bull. Soc. Bot. France 27: 28. 1881) may have been 

 a member of this series but was not sufficiently described to permit positive 

 identification. 



Aspergillus hennebergi Blochwitz, in Ann. Mycol. 33: 23S-239. 1935. The species 

 is described as having the aspect and colors of a non-floccose A. wentii or an A. tamarii 

 with red sclerotia but with conidiophores browned as in the partially browned con- 

 idiophores of the .4. niger group. 



An albino "variant" of A. wentii was isolated by Mosseray (Ann. Soc. Sci. Brux. 

 54: 161-189. 1934) from a normal culture of this species, and was found to retain its 

 distinctive characters through repeated transfers in laboratory culture. No name 

 was given to this mutant. 



Occurrence and Economic Importance 



Aspergillus wentii is a cosmopolitan species that is fairly common in 

 soils, upon moist grains and other vegetable matter undergoing slow 

 decomposition, and may be isolated less frequently from a wide variety 

 of other materials collected from nature. It is apparently world-wide 

 in distribution. In the Orient, it is often included with Aspergillus tamarii, 

 A. flavus, and A. oryzae, all under the latter name as a rule, in the "Koji" 

 preparations used in the manufacture of various soy products. Likewise, 

 it has been investigated with these same species in connection with the 

 production of various mold enzymes. At the same time, it has been 

 included with the black Aspergilli in studies on the production of organic 

 acids by molds. Recently Karow (1942) has reported one strain of this 

 species to give substantial yields of citric acid in submerged culture. 

 Yabuta (1912) reports Koji acid production by .4. wentii. On the whole, 

 strains of the species appear to be somewhat less active biochemically than 

 either the black Aspergilli or members of the A. flavus-oryzae group. It is, 

 nevertheless, a vigorously growing species with definite biochemical pos- 

 sibilities and should not be overlooked in any program relating to mold 

 fermentation. 



Aspergillus alliaceus appears periodically upon alliaceous bulbs and 

 occasionally upon cacti as at least a secondary parasite. It is not in- 

 frequently isolated from soils, and appears to be fairly common in the 

 southwestern states of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. It has also 

 been isolated from soils of other areas including Southern Mexico and 

 India. Nothing is known regarding its biochemical possibilities. 



Only the type strains of A. avenaceus and A. panamensis are known and 

 neither has been shown to have any economic importance. 



