Project description:The full genome sequencing of the filamentous fungi Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus oryzae has opened the possibilities for studying the cellular physiology of these fungi on a systemic level. As a tool to explore this, we are presenting an Affymetrix GeneChip developed for transcriptome analysis of any of the three above-mentioned aspergilli. Transcriptome analysis of triplicate batch cultivations of all three aspergilli on glucose-and xylose media has been performed, and used to validate the performance of the micro array. By doing gene comparisons of all three species, and cross-analysing this with the expression data, 23 genes, including the xylose transcriptional activator XlnR, have been identified to be a conserved response across the Aspergillus sp. Promoter analysis of the upregulated genes in all three species suggest the XlnR-binding site to be 5’-GGNTAAA-3’. We are thus presenting a validated tool for transcription analysis of three Aspergillus species and a methodology for comparative transcriptomics. Keywords: Physiological response