Phylogeography of the cosmopolitan fungus Aspergillus flavus: is everything everywhere?

Aspergillus flavus is one of the most common fungal eukaryotes on the planet. It is notorious for production of aflatoxins, for causing aspergillosis in humans and animals, and as an opportunistic pathogen of animals and plants. Its role in marine habitats is unclear. Until now, little phylogeographic structure has been detected for the species, except at very local scales, and it appears to fit the classic dictum of microbial biogeography: Everything is everywhere. Here we use genetic relationships among isolates to determine phylogeographic structure, mating types, and differences in preferences for: marine vs. terrestrial habitats, various substrates, and clinical vs. nonclinical environments. Phylogenetic relationships among isolates were estimated using amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) and mating types were determined for a worldwide sample of A. flavus isolates from diverse substrates and geographic locations. All isolates composed a single population, with no significant differentiation of marine vs. terrestrial isolates, clinical vs. environmental isolates, or association with substrate or geographic origin. There was evidence for local dominance of a single clade, probably clonal in origin and short-lived. The proportion of mating types was 1:1, supporting the hypothesis of recombination in natural populations. However, a high proportion of clinical isolates were MAT1-1 (85 %), suggesting that a gene linked to the MAT1-1 idiomorph could play a role in pathogenicity. This study suggests that a more appropriate description of the phylogeography of A. flavus is ‘everything is everywhere, but not all the time.’

► AFLPs showed that all Aspergillus flavus isolates in a worldwide sample formed a single population.
► One site was dominated by a single clade, probably clonal and of short duration.
► Mating types were in equal proportions, except in clinical isolates.
► Association of mating type with clinical isolates may provide clues to pathogenicity.
► We suggest that for A. flavus: Everything is everywhere, but not all the time.