''Aspergillus luchuensis'' (previous names ''A. foetidus'' and ''A. acidus'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of fungus in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Aspergillus ' () is a genus consisting of several hundred mold species found in various climates worldwide. ''Aspergillus'' was first catalogued in 1729 by the Italian priest and biologist Pier Antonio Micheli. Viewing the fungi under a microscope, Miche ...

''. It belongs to the group of black ''Aspergilli'' which are important industrial workhorses. ''A. luchuensis'' belongs to the ''Nigri'' section. It has been used to produce

awamori ''Awamori'' (, Okinawan: , āmui'') is an alcoholic beverage indigenous and unique to Okinawa, Japan. It is made from long grain indica rice, and is not a direct product of brewing (like ''sake'') but of distillation (like ''shōchū''). The ...

, a distilled alcoholic beverage made on the Okinawa islands in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The species was first described in Japan in 1901. Its genome has been

sequenced In genetics and biochemistry, sequencing means to determine the primary structure (sometimes incorrectly called the primary sequence) of an unbranched biopolymer. Sequencing results in a symbolic linear depiction known as a sequence which suc ...

by two different research groups, first in 2016, and then in 2017. The first sequencing of the ''A. luchuensis'' genome reported a genome assembly size of 34.7 Mbp and reported the presence of 11,691 genes.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q60185199 luchuensis Fungi described in 1901