Aspergillus

Aspergillus is a genus of several hundred mold species found in a wide range of climates worldwide. It was first catalogued in 1729 by the Italian priest and biologist Pier Antonio Micheli, who was reminded under the microscope of the shape of an aspergillum, the liturgical holy water sprinkler, and named the genus accordingly. All Aspergillus species share an asexual, spore-forming structure, and roughly one-third are also known to have a sexual reproductive stage; while some species cause fungal infections, others are of significant commercial importance.