Variation in Fumonisin and Ochratoxin Production Associated with Differences in Biosynthetic Gene Content in Aspergillus niger and A. welwitschiae Isolates from Multiple Crop and Geographic Origins.
The fungi Aspergillus niger and A. welwitschiae are morphologically indistinguishable species used for industrial fermentation and for food and beverage production. The fungi also occur widely on food crops. Concerns about their safety have arisen with the discovery that some isolates of both species produce fumonisin (FB) and ochratoxin A (OTA) mycotoxins. Here, we examined FB and OTA production as well as the presence of genes responsible for synthesis of the mycotoxins in a collection of 92 A. niger/A. welwitschiae isolates from multiple crop and geographic origins. The results indicate that (i) isolates of both species differed in ability to produce the mycotoxins; (ii) FB-nonproducing isolates of A. niger had an intact fumonisin biosynthetic gene (fum) cluster; (iii) FB-nonproducing isolates of A. welwitschiae exhibited multiple patterns of fum gene deletion; and (iv) OTA-nonproducing isolates of both species lacked the ochratoxin A biosynthetic gene (ota) cluster. Analysis of genome sequence data revealed a single pattern of ota gene deletion in the two species. Phylogenetic analysis suggest that the simplest explanation for this is that ota cluster deletion occurred in a common ancestor of A. niger and A. welwitschiae, and subsequently both the intact and deleted cluster were retained as alternate alleles during divergence of the ancestor into descendent species. Finally, comparison of results from this and previous studies indicate that a majority of A. niger isolates and a minority of A. welwitschiae isolates can produce FBs, whereas, a minority of isolates of both species produce OTA. The comparison also suggested that the relative abundance of each species and frequency of FB/OTA-producing isolates can vary with crop and/or geographic origin.
Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council of Italy Bari, Italy.
Antonia
A
Susca
United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research Peoria, IL, USA.
Robert H
RH
Proctor
Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, UOS Bari Bari, Italy.
Massimiliano
M
Morelli
Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council of Italy Bari, Italy.
Miriam
M
Haidukowski
Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council of Italy Lecce, Italy.
Antonia
A
Gallo
Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council of Italy Bari, Italy.
Antonio F
AF
Logrieco
Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council of Italy Bari, Italy.
Antonio
A
Moretti
Aspergillus niger; Aspergillus welwitschiae; biosynthetic gene cluster; fum cluster; fumonisin; ochratoxin; ota cluster
Int J Food Microbiol. 2013 Jul 15;165(2):163-8
23732831
PLoS One. 2013 May 28;8(5):e63769
23723998
J Agric Food Chem. 2010 Jan 27;58(2):954-8
20014861
Stud Mycol. 2011 Jun 30;69(1):1-17
21892239
Fungal Genet Biol. 1999 Jun;27(1):100-12
10413619
Int J Food Microbiol. 2009 Jan 31;129(1):8-15
19038469
Int J Food Microbiol. 2016 Mar 16;221:19-28
26803270
Int J Food Microbiol. 2006 Sep 1;111 Suppl 1:S72-82
16737756
Mol Biol Evol. 2011 Oct;28(10):2731-9
21546353
Mycotoxin Res. 2006 Jun;22(2):134-41
23605586
J Agric Food Chem. 2007 Nov 14;55(23 ):9727-32
17929891
Nat Rev Microbiol. 2013 Jan;11(1):21-32
23178386
PLoS One. 2011;6(8):e23496
21853139
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2012 Dec;78(23):8208-18
22983973
Nucleic Acids Res. 2014 Jan;42(Database issue):D26-31
24225321
Int J Food Microbiol. 2015 Dec 2;214:102-8
26256718
Nat Biotechnol. 2007 Feb;25(2):221-31
17259976
Fungal Genet Biol. 2014 Dec;73:39-52
25281783
Int J Food Microbiol. 2014 Oct 1;188:75-82
25087207
Eukaryot Cell. 2007 Jul;6(7):1210-8
17483290
Int J Food Microbiol. 2014 Jun 2;179:10-7
24699234
Nat Rev Microbiol. 2005 Dec;3(12):937-47
16322742
Int J Food Microbiol. 2012 Apr 16;155(3):137-45
22341916
Fungal Biol. 2011 Nov;115(11):1138-50
22036292
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2005 Aug;71(8):4696-702
16085865
J Agric Food Chem. 2016 Feb 24;64(7):1583-9
26837797
J Agric Food Chem. 2010 Aug 25;58(16):9266-72
20666454
Med Mycol. 2006 Sep;44 Suppl 1:S17-21
17050415
Mycologia. 2013 Mar-Apr;105(2):277-84
22962354
Foodborne Pathog Dis. 2015 May;12(5):414-23
25713980
Nucleic Acids Res. 1997 Sep 1;25(17):3389-402
9254694
Genome Res. 2011 Jun;21(6):885-97
21543515
Mycopathologia. 2007 Apr;163(4):215-23
17390234
Int J Food Microbiol. 2010 Oct 15;143(3):143-9
20826035