- Dr. Antonio Vasquez Hidalgo, PhD*
- Professor of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of El Salvador
- DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19101545
The genus Aspergillus, specifically the
section Nigri, presents taxonomic challenges due to the existence of
cryptic species with almost identical morphologies. In this study, genomic
variability was analyzed by identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)
in sequences of A. uessalvadorensis, comparing them with the A. niger
and A. neoniger standards. Using the UGENE platform for multiple
sequence alignment (MSA) and phylogenetic reconstruction by distances,
significant divergence rates (0.20 to 0.29 substitutions per site) were
identified. The results demonstrate that A. uessalvadorensis possesses a
unique genetic signature, validating its status as an independent taxonomic
entity separate from the classical lineages of the section Nigri. The molecular evidence is conclusive: Aspergillus
uessalvadorensis is a distinct genomic entity. The architecture of the
phylogenetic tree and the numerical distances obtained exceed the thresholds of
intraspecific variation, confirming that the use of SNPs and high-resolution
tools such as UGENE is essential for the identification of cryptic species.
This finding not only contributes a new species to the mycological catalog of
El Salvador, but also establishes a methodological precedent for the resolution
of taxonomic conflicts in the Nigri section.
