Viewing the fungi under a microscope, Micheli was reminded of the shape of an aspergillum (holy water sprinkler), from Latin spargere (to sprinkle), and named the genus accordingly.

Aspergillus species are common contaminants of starchy foods (such as bread and potatoes), and grow in or on many plants and trees.

[citation needed] Several species of Aspergillus, including A. niger and A. fumigatus, will readily colonise buildings,[7] favouring warm and damp or humid areas such as bathrooms and around window frames.

[10] For humans, a range of diseases such as infection to the external ear, skin lesions, and ulcers classed as mycetomas are found.

For example, alcoholic beverages such as Japanese sake are often made from rice or other starchy ingredients (like manioc), rather than from grapes or malted barley.

[citation needed] A. niger is also commonly used for the production of native and foreign enzymes, including glucose oxidase, lysozyme, and lactase.

In 2009, a sexual state of this heterothallic fungus was found to arise when strains of opposite mating types were cultured together under appropriate conditions.

[20] A. terreus is commonly used in industry to produce important organic acids and enzymes, and was the initial source for the cholesterol-lowering drug lovastatin.

In 2013, A. terreus was found to be capable of sexual reproduction when strains of opposite mating types were crossed under appropriate culture conditions.

[25] This observation suggests Aspergillus species can generally maintain sex though little genetic variability is produced by homothallic self-fertilization.

A. fumigatus, a heterothallic (outcrossing) fungus that occurs in areas with widely different climates and environments, also displays little genetic variability either within geographic regions or on a global scale,[26] again suggesting sex, in this case outcrossing sex, can be maintained even when little genetic variability is produced.

Like most major genome projects, these efforts were collaborations between a large sequencing centre and the respective community of scientists.

The Joint Genome Institute of the Department of Energy has released sequence data for a citric acid-producing strain of A. niger.

The most common pathogenic species are A. fumigatus and A. flavus, which produces aflatoxin which is both a toxin and a carcinogen, and which can contaminate foods such as nuts.

[31] The symptoms include fever, cough, chest pain, or breathlessness, which also occur in many other illnesses, so diagnosis can be difficult.

[citation needed] In humans, the major forms of disease are:[32][33] Fungal infections from Aspergillus spores remain one theory of sickness and untimely death of some early Egyptologists and tomb explorers.

Ancient spores which grew on the remains of food offerings and mummies sealed in tombs and chambers may have been blown around and inhaled by the excavators, ultimately linked to the notion of the curse of the pharaohs.

[34] Aspergillosis of the air passages is also frequently reported in birds, and certain species of Aspergillus have been known to infect insects.