Hina Afzal^1*, Saleem Shazad² and Syeda Qamar Un Nisa³

¹ Department of Botany, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan

² Department of Agriculture and Agribusiness Management, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan

³The Karachi Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (KIBGE), University of

Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan

*Corresponding author: e-mail: hina.afzal.siddiqui@gmail.com

 
ABSTRACT

Aspergillus is a large genus of anamorphic fungi. Aspergilli have great importance in many fields like plant, animals, and human health etc. The present study was conducted to identify Aspergillus isolates from district Larkana Sindh Pakistan. There are no reports that cover the whole mycoflora of Sindh province.  In this study two differential media, Czapek Solution  Agar (CZA) and Malt  Exract  Agar (MEA)  were used for the identification of Aspergillus species using macroscopic characteristics such as colony growth, conidial color, colony reverse, and microscopic characteristics including conidiophore,  vesicle, matulae, phialides  and conidia.  All the eight Aspergillus species viz., Aspergillus ficcum, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus flavus var.  columnaris, Aspergillus terreus  var.  aureus, Aspergillus fumigatus,  Emericella  nidulans,  Emericella  rugulosa  and Apergillus terricola  var. americana have been reported  for the first time from Larkana  whereas, Aspergillus terricola var.  americana appeared  to be a new records from Pakistan.

Keywords: Apergillus, Aspergillus ficcum, Aspergillus terricola var.  americana, Emericella rugulosa, Morphological  Observations, Czapek Solution  Agar, Malt  Extract  Agar.