Proteomic profile of Aspergillus flavus in response to water activity.
Aspergillus flavus, a common contaminant of crops and stored grains, can produce aflatoxins that are harmful to humans and other animals. Water activity (aw) is one of the key factors influencing both fungal growth and mycotoxin production. In this study, we used the isobaric tagging for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) technique to investigate the effect of aw on the proteomic profile of A. flavus. A total of 3566 proteins were identified, of which 837 were differentially expressed in response to variations in aw. Among these 837 proteins, 403 were over-expressed at 0.99 aw, whereas 434 proteins were over-expressed at 0.93 aw. According to Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, the secretion of extracellular hydrolases increased as aw was raised, suggesting that extracellular hydrolases may play a critical role in induction of aflatoxin biosynthesis. On the basis of Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COG) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) categorizations, we identified an exportin protein, KapK, that may down-regulate aflatoxin biosynthesis by changing the location of NirA. Finally, we considered the role of two osmotic stress-related proteins (Sln1 and Glo1) in the Hog1 pathway and investigated the expression patterns of proteins related to aflatoxin biosynthesis. The data uncovered in this study are critical for understanding the effect of water stress on toxin production and for the development of strategies to control toxin contamination of agricultural products.
Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of the Education Ministry, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
Feng
F
Zhang
Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of the Education Ministry, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
Hong
H
Zhong
Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of the Education Ministry, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
Xiaoyun
X
Han
Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of the Education Ministry, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
Zhenni
Z
Guo
Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of the Education Ministry, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
Weiqiang
W
Yang
Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Bioenergy, BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China.
Yongfeng
Y
Liu
Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of the Education Ministry, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
Kunlong
K
Yang
Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of the Education Ministry, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
Zhenhong
Z
Zhuang
Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Fungi and Mycotoxins of Fujian Province, Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology of the Education Ministry, and School of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China. Electronic address: wshyyl@sina.com.
Shihua
S
Wang
D001231:Aspergillus flavus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D020543:Proteome / Q000032:analysis*; D014867:Water
D005656:Fungal Proteins; D020543:Proteome; D014867:Water
Aflatoxin; Filamentous fungi; ITRAQ; Osmotic-stress; Proteome