Aspergillus alabamensis, a New Clinically Relevant Species in the Section Terrei

Phylogenetic analyses of sequences generated from portions of three genes coding for the proteins enolase (enoA), beta-tubulin (benA), and calmodulin (calM) of a large number of isolates within the section Terrei, genus Aspergillus, revealed the presence of a new cryptic species within this section, Aspergillus alabamensis. Most members of this new cryptic species were recovered as colonizing isolates from immunocompetent patient populations, had decreased in vitro susceptibilities to the antifungal drug amphotericin B, and were morphologically similar to but genetically distinct from Aspergillus terreus isolates.