Draft Genome Sequences of Two Closely Related Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus Species Obtained from the Ivory Coast

Aspergillus ochraceoroseus and Aspergillus rambellii were isolated from soil detritus in Taï National Park, Ivory Coast, Africa. The Type strain for each species happens to be the only representative ever sampled. Both species secrete copious amounts of aflatoxin B1 and sterigmatocystin, because each of their genomes contains clustered genes for biosynthesis of these mycotoxins. We sequenced their genomes using a personal genome machine and found them to be smaller in size (A. ochraceoroseus = 23.9 Mb and A. rambellii = 26.1 Mb), as well as in numbers of predicted genes (7,837 and 7,807, respectively), compared to other sequenced Aspergilli. Our findings also showed that the A. ochraceoroseus Type strain contains a single MAT1-1 gene, while the Type strain of A. rambellii contains a single MAT1-2 gene, indicating that these species are heterothallic (self-infertile). These draft genomes will be useful for understanding the genes and pathways necessary for the cosynthesis of these two toxic secondary metabolites as well as the evolution of these pathways in aflatoxigenic fungi.