ASPERGILLUS PAKISTANICUS: MICROSCOPIC AND PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF A NEW ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGI ISOLATED FROM THE SOIL OF THE CHANGA MANGA FOREST, PAKISTAN

摘要

Changa Manga forest is a man-made forest in Pakistan. The soil properties of this forest serve an ideal habitat for a vast variety of entomopathogenic fungi. A number of entomopathogenic fungi were isolated from the soil samples collected from the Changa Manga Forest using Galleria bait method during this investigation. Among these isolated fungi, Aspergillus pakistanicus was found to be morphologically and phylogenetically different from closely related Aspergillus species thus described as a new species. The fungal species was identified on the basis of colony morphology; light microscopy; scanning electron microscopy and by molecular analysis. Macroscopic and microscopic comparison with other species of the respective genus along with sequencing of 18S rRNA genes confirmed its uniqueness and supports its recognition as a novel species. Its angular ornamented conidia and separate clade in the phylogenetic tree support it as a new taxa. A detailed description, microscopic images, and comparison with morphologically and phylogenetically similar species are presented.