Extended-panel species

Aspergillus flavipes

Section Flavipedes Aspergillus offered on extended panels. Limited indoor mycology literature; soil and stored-grain isolates dominate.

Extended panel
Minimum Aw
–
EPA reference (GM)
< 0.4 SE/mgMeklin AHHS threshold
Mycotoxin profile
2+ documented
Ecological role
Variable

The < 0.4 SE/mg reference value is Meklin 2004's AHHS exclusion threshold: the paper retained species whose geometric mean was at least 2 spores per 5 mg dust (≈ 0.4 spores/mg) and eliminated the rest. This species was measured across the 1,096-home AHHS sample and characterized below that threshold, used here as a conservative ceiling on its true GM, not a percentile band. A detected value of X SE/mg implies an elevation factor of at least X ÷ 0.4 over the EPA reference, a lower bound, since the true GM is below 0.4. See the 82-species story for the math.

Note on cardinal Aw: No species-specific value measured. Estimated min Aw ≈ 0.78–0.80 by analogy with sister section Terrei, A. terreus min Aw ~0.78 (Ayerst 1969; Pitt and Hocking). Moderately xerotolerant, not an extreme xerophile.

About Aspergillus flavipes

Aspergillus flavipes is a soil-associated Aspergillus in section Flavipedes, offered on EnviroBiomics's ERMI Plus add-on menu. Indoor mycology literature on the species is thin; most detections are from soil, stored grains, and occasionally clinical specimens.

Taxonomy

Ascomycota → Eurotiomycetes → Eurotiales → Aspergillaceae → Aspergillus section Flavipedes

Ecology and habitat

A. flavipes is cosmopolitan in soil and decomposing plant matter. It occurs occasionally in indoor dust panels at low levels. Reports of building-material colonization are sparse compared to the more commonly relevant indoor Aspergilli.

Indoor relevance

Indoor relevance is limited and not well-characterized. Detection on a residential ERMI extended panel is unusual; the species is included on lab menus primarily for completeness within section Flavipedes rather than for a specific diagnostic role.

Cardinal physiology

No species-specific cardinal Aw has been measured for A. flavipes. The most defensible estimate is a minimum Aw ≈ 0.78–0.80 by analogy with its sister section Terrei. A. terreus has a published minimum Aw ~0.78 (Ayerst 1969, as tabulated in Pitt and Hocking, Fungi and Food Spoilage). The species is moderately xerotolerant rather than an extreme xerophile; growth occurs across roughly 12–42 °C. Treat these as estimates, not primary-literature values for the species.

Secondary metabolites

A. flavipes produces flavipin and some strains produce aspochalasins (cytochalasin-family metabolites). The species is not a documented significant indoor mycotoxin concern; its inclusion on extended panels is principally for taxonomic completeness.

Compounds documented as produced by Aspergillus flavipes (presence and quantity vary by chemotype, strain, and substrate):

FlavipinAspochalasins (some strains)

DNA-based detection of a mycotoxin-producing species in household dust does not directly establish exposure to that mycotoxin at any specific concentration.

Lab availability

Some commercial dust testing labs offer this species as an extended-panel option. Specific lab coverage changes over time: check with your laboratory for current panel options.

Related

Aspergillus flavusBest-known indoor Aspergillus; same genus, different section.Beyond the 36

References

  1. Meklin T, Haugland RA, Reponen T, Varma M, Lummus Z, Bernstein D, Wymer LJ, Vesper SJ. Quantitative PCR analysis of house dust can reveal abnormal mold conditions. J Environ Monit. 2004;6(7):615–620.
  2. Pitt JI, Hocking AD. Fungi and Food Spoilage. 3rd ed. New York: Springer; 2009.