Ecophysiological characterization of Aspergillus carbonarius, Aspergillus tubingensis and Aspergillus niger isolated from grapes in Spanish vineyards

The aim of this study was to evaluate the diversity of black aspergilli isolated from berries from different agroclimatic regions of Spain. Growth characterization (in terms of temperature and water activity requirements) of Aspergillus carbonarius, Aspergillus tubingensis and Aspergillus niger was carried out on synthetic grape medium. A. tubingensis and A. niger showed higher maximum temperatures for growth (> 45 °C versus 40–42 °C), and lower minimum aw requirements (0.83 aw versus 0.87 aw) than A. carbonarius. No differences in growth boundaries due to their geographical origin were found within A. niger aggregate isolates. Conversely, A. carbonarius isolates from the hotter and drier region grew and produced OTA at lower aw than other isolates. However, little genetic diversity in A. carbonarius was observed for the microsatellites tested and the same sequence of β-tubulin gene was observed; therefore intraspecific variability did not correlate with the geographical origin of the isolates or with their ability to produce OTA. Climatic change prediction points to drier and hotter climatic scenarios where A. tubingensis and A. niger could be even more prevalent over A. carbonarius, since they are better adapted to extreme high temperature and drier conditions.