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Response to Pitt & Taylor 2016: Conservation of Aspergillus with A. niger as the conserved type is unnecessary and potentially disruptive
Author(s) -
Samson Robert A.,
Hubka Vit,
Varga Janos,
Houbraken Jos,
Hong Seung-Beom,
Klaassen Corné H.W.,
Perrone Giancarlo,
Seifert Keith A.,
Magistá Donato,
Visagie Cobus M.,
Kocsubé Sandor,
Szigeti Geongi,
Yaguchi Takashi,
Peterson Stephen W.,
Frisvad Jens C.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
taxon
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1996-8175
pISSN - 0040-0262
DOI - 10.12705/666.10
Subject(s) - biology , aspergillus , aspergillus niger , taxonomy (biology) , nomenclature , type (biology) , genus , aspergillus flavus , zoology , ecology , botany , microbiology and biotechnology
Aspergillus is a diverse fungal genus containing many species of great agricultural, biotechnological and medical relevance. Because of the broad use of the genus name in diverse disciplines, and the importance of individual species names in these areas, the taxonomy and nomenclature of Aspergillus should remain stable. A formal proposal to change the generic type from A. glaucus to A. niger was recently published. Here we present arguments against this proposal. We assert that it should be rejected because it will not ensure nomenclatural stability for Aspergillus , and will put the names of several important species, such as A. flavus , A. fumigatus and A. oryzae at risk of being classified in different genera and being lost.