Black aspergilli of the section Nigri are rarely differentiated at the species level when originating from human specimens. We wondered whether some cryptic species could be more frequently observed in some clinical entities. We analyzed the 198 black isolates consecutively collected from the external ear canal (EEC; n = 66), respiratory specimens (n = 99), and environment (n = 33). DNA was extracted and species identification was performed upon the partial calmodulin gene. We identified by decreasing frequency: Aspergillus welwitschiae (35.3%), Aspergillus tubingensis (34.3%), Aspergillus niger (17.2%), Aspergillus luchuensis (4%), Aspergillus aff. welwitschiae (3%), Aspergillus neoniger (2%), Aspergillus piperis (1.5%), Aspergillus japonicus (1.0%), Aspergillus vadensis (0.5%), and two Aspergillus tubingensis clade (1%). The distribution of the three main cryptic species was different between EEC and respiratory samples (P < 0.001) but not different between respiratory and environment samples (P = 0.264). Aspergillus welwitschiae was more often associated with EEC (54.5%), whereas A. tubingensis and A. niger were predominant in respiratory samples (39.4 and 26.3%, respectively). Among the 99 respiratory isolates, only 10 were deemed responsible for probable invasive aspergillosis, of which six were mixed with other pathogenic moulds. This study shows the interest to pursue the identification of clinical isolates in the Aspergillus section Nigri to unravel some specific associations with clinical entities. The association of A. welwitschiae with otomycosis suggests a better fitness to infect/colonize the ear canal. Also, members of the Aspergillus section Nigri alone are rarely responsible for invasive aspergillosis. Lay summary We analyzed 198 black aspergilli isolates collected from different samples type to determine their species identification. We observe a different distribution of species between ear canal and respiratory samples (P < 0.001), suggesting a better fitness of A. welwitschiae to infect the ear canal.

中文翻译：

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在法国大学医院根据人类感染的解剖部位对神秘的黑曲霉进行不同的重新划分

当来自人类标本时，Nigri 部分的黑曲霉很少在物种水平上进行区分。我们想知道在某些临床实体中是否可以更频繁地观察到一些神秘的物种。我们分析了从外耳道 (EEC; n = 66)、呼吸道标本 (n = 99) 和环境 (n = 33) 连续收集的 198 个黑色分离株。提取DNA并对部分钙调蛋白基因进行物种鉴定。我们通过降低频率来确定：万岁曲霉（35.3%）、管状曲霉（34.3%）、黑曲霉（17.2%）、芦竹曲霉（4%）、曲霉aff。welwitschiae (3%)、Aspergillus neoniger (2%)、Aspergillus piperis (1.5%)、Aspergillus japonicus (1.0%)、Aspergillus vadensis (0.5%) 和两个 Aspergillus tubingensis clade (1%)。EEC 和呼吸道样本之间三种主要隐蔽物种的分布不同（P < 0.001），但呼吸道和环境样本之间没有差异（P = 0.264）。万岁曲霉更​​常与 EEC 相关（54.5%），而 A. tubingensis 和 A. niger 在呼吸道样本中占主导地位（分别为 39.4% 和 26.3%）。在 99 种呼吸道分离物中，只有 10 种被认为可能导致侵袭性曲霉病，其中 6 种与其他致病霉菌混合。这项研究表明有兴趣在黑曲霉部分进行临床分离株的鉴定，以解开与临床实体的一些特定关联。A. welwitschiae 与耳真菌病的关联表明更适合感染/定植耳道。还，仅黑曲霉科的成员很少对侵袭性曲霉病负责。总结 我们分析了从不同样本类型中收集的 198 个黑曲霉分离株，以确定它们的物种鉴定。我们观察到耳道和呼吸道样本之间的物种分布不同（P < 0.001），表明 A. welwitschiae 更适合感染耳道。