Preliminary study of black aspergilli inhabiting Piper rhizosphere from Eka Karya Botanical Garden, Bedugul Bali

The black aspergilli (Aspergillus section Nigri ) occupy a broad spectrum of habitat, and they are an essential group of species in food mycology, medical mycology, and biotechnology. This study aimed to isolate and identify the black aspergilli inhabiting five samples of Piper rhizosphere collected from Eka Karya Botanical Garden, Bedugul Bali. In this study, 71 strains of black aspergilli were isolated, and 20 strains of them have selected and characterized using morphological, molecular, and phylogenetic analysis. Morphological data results are useful for preliminary identification, but they did not have been totally effective in describing and elucidating 20 selected strains into species level. Further molecular identification and phylogenetic analysis based on ITS rDNA showed that from 20 selected strains, four strains were identified as Aspergillus aculeatus sensu stricto, three strains were identified as Aspergillus japonicus sensu stricto, four strains were identified as Aspergillus niger sensu lato, and nine strains were identified as Aspergillus tubingensis sensu stricto. Preliminary exploration of fungi through isolation and identification was the first step to discover the potential strains that able to produce the promising metabolites and bioactive materials. The study results are expected to be the initial microbial resources and information for screening and utilizing the black aspergilli through bioprospecting.