The new species Aspergilluskarnatakaensis sp. nov. is described and illustrated. All three isolates of this species were isolated from Indian soil; two from soil under a coconut palm in a coffee plantation in Karnataka, and one from soil in the Machrar river bed in Bansa district. This species is closely related to, but clearly distinct, from A. aeneus based on β-tubulin or calmodulin sequence data. Sequences of the ITS region of these two species are identical. Aspergillus karnatakaensis produced terrein, gregatins, asteltoxin, karnatakafurans A and B and the unknown metabolite, provisionally named NIDU. Aspergillus karnatakaensis belongs to a well-defined clade within Aspergillus subgenus Nidulantes together with eight other species including A. aeneus, A. crustosus, A. eburneocremeus, A. heyangensis, and the teleomorph producing-species Emericella bicolor, E. discophora, E. spectabilis, and E. foeniculicola. This clade is placed in a new section, Aspergillus sect. Aenei sect. nov. All teleomorph species assigned to this section are able to produce sterigmatocystin.
Keywords: Aspergillus subgen. Nidulantes; Eurotiales; ITS; calmodulin; extrolites; polyphasic taxonomy; β-tubulin.