Functional and Pharmacological Analyses of the Role of Penicillium digitatum Proteases on Virulence
© The Author(s).
Comparison of the activity of antifungal hexapeptides and the fungicides thiabendazole and imazalil against postharvest fungal pathogens
8 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables.-- PMID: 14623382 [PubMed].-- Printed version published Dec 31, 2003.
Genes differentially expressed by Aspergillus carbonarius strains under ochratoxin A producing conditions
Aspergillus carbonarius is an important ochratoxin A (OTA)-producing fungus that is responsible for toxin contamination of grapes and wine, coffee and cocoa. A suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) approach was performed with two strains of A. carbonarius, antagonistic in their OTA-production ability, to identify genes whose expression is linked with the ability to produce OTA. BlastX analysis identified 109 differentially-expressed sequences putatively involved in the production of OTA, with significant similarities (Evalue < 10− 5) to sequences deposited in the NCBI non-redundant protein database. Of the 109 ESTs, 26% were involved in regulation processes, 15% corresponded to hypoth…
Characterization and disruption of the cipC gene in the ochratoxigenic fungus Aspergillus carbonarius
Aspergillus carbonarius is considered the most important ochratoxin A (OTA) producing fungi among those causing OTA contamination in grapes and grape-derived products. CipC is a small protein with unknown function that was previously found to be highly up-regulated in an OTA producer strain of A. carbonarius in comparison to a non OTA producer strain. In this study, cipC was characterized and disrupted via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation in an ochratoxigenic A. carbonarius strain in order to study whether this gene has a role in OTA production. Sequence analysis indicated that the promoter region of cipC contains putative binding sites for transcription factors that regula…
Development of a green fluorescent tagged strain of Aspergillus carbonarius to monitor fungal colonization in grapes.
An enhanced green fluorescent protein has been used to tag an OTA-producing strain of Aspergillus carbonarius (W04-40) isolated from naturally infected grape berries. Transformation of the fungus was mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The most efficient transformation occurred when the co-cultivation was done with 104 conidia due to higher frequency of resistance colonies (894 per 104 conidia) and lower background obtained. To confirm the presence of the hph gene in hygromycin resistant colonies, 20 putative transformants were screened by PCR analysis. The hph gene was identified in all the transformants. Variation on the expression levels of the eGFP was detected among the transformant…
The loss of the inducible Aspergillus carbonarius MFS transporter MfsA leads to ochratoxin A overproduction
Ochratoxin A (OTA), a nephrotoxic compound produced by certain Aspergillus and Penicillium species, is one of the most abundant mycotoxins in food commodities. Aspergillus carbonarius is the main source of OTA in wine, grape juice and dried vine fruits. Although many studies have focused on OTA production by A. carbonarius, little is known about the genes related to OTA production and transport. We have found a transporter that belongs to the major facilitator superfamily (MfsA) which is highly expressed with a 102-fold induction in an ochratoxigenic A. carbonarius strain compared to a low OTA producer strain. The encoding mfsA gene shows similarity to the multidrug efflux transporter flu1 …
Effect of oxidant stressors and phenolic antioxidants on the ochratoxigenic fungusAspergillus carbonarius
BACKGROUND There are few studies dealing with the relationship between oxidative stress and ochratoxin A (OTA) biosynthesis. In this work, we analyzed the effect of the oxidant stressor menadione and the antioxidants 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxytoluene (BHT), catechin, resveratrol and a polyphenolic extract on growth, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), OTA production and gene expression of antioxidant enzymes of Aspergillus carbonarius. RESULTS Exposure to menadione concentrations higher than 20 µmol L−1 led to increases in ROS and OTA levels and a decrease in growth rate. Exposure to 2.5–10 mmol L−1 BHT also led to higher ROS and OTA levels, although growth rate was only affected …
In-Depth Characterization of Bioactive Extracts from Posidonia oceanica Waste Biomass
© 2019 by the authors.
Epicuticular wax content and morphology as related to ethylene and storage perfomance of 'Navelate' orange fruit
8 pages, 6 figures, 1 table. -- Available online 15 September 2009.