YES-DC-CP medium facilitates the isolation of <i>Aspergillus</i> section <i>Flavi</i> from acidic field soils

Aspergillus flavus and parasiticus agar (AFPA) medium is the most prevalent medium for the isolation of fungal strains of Aspergillus section Flavi. AFPA medium has been mainly used for the selection of the aflatoxin (AF) – producing strains of Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. Recently we have developed an improved agar medium, named YES-DC-CP, for the isolation of Aspergillus section Flavi, regardless of the production of AF. In this study we adopted YES-DC-CP medium for the isolation of Aspergillus section Flavi strains from acidic tea field soils and compared the isolation efficacy with AFPA. As a result, YES-DC-CP medium was more suitable for the isolation. The isolated strains were chemically and genetically analyzed for the species identification. A. caelatus, one of the minor species of this section, was found in rather high frequencies.