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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Foodborne Toxin Detection and Prevention Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #367217
Research Project: Biocontrol Interventions for High-Value Agricultural Commodities

Location: Foodborne Toxin Detection and Prevention Research

Title: Volatile 1-octen-3-ol increases patulin production by Penicillium expansum on a patulin-suppressing medium

Author
item PENNERMAN, KAYLA - Rutgers University
item SCARSELLA, JOSEPH - Rutgers University
item YIN, GUOHUA - Rutgers University
item Hua, Sui Sheng
item HARTMAN, THOMAS - Rutgers University
item BENNETT, JOAN - Rutgers University

Submitted to: Mycotoxin Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/27/2019
Publication Date: 4/25/2019
Citation: Pennerman, K.K., Scarsella, J.B., Yin, G., Hua, S.T., Hartman, T.G., Bennett, J.W. 2019. Volatile 1-octen-3-ol increases patulin production by Penicillium expansum on a patulin-suppressing medium. Mycotoxin Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-019-00348-w.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-019-00348-w

Interpretive Summary: The blue mold Penicillium expansum is estimated to have caused up to 80% of decay in stored apples. The fungus is the main producer of the mycotoxin patulin. How Penicillium species communicate with one another to control their own growth and metabolite production is poorly understood. Deeper study into Penicillium signaling might allow manufacturing and agricultural industries to improve production of desirable products and depress mycotoxin production or pathogenic behavior. Further study is needed to determine the relationship between the upregulation of patulin biosynthesis genes and gox2 on SMA, and to identify the molecular mechanism by which 1-octen-3-ol induced this effect.

Technical Abstract: 1-Octen-3-ol is one of the most abundant volatile compounds associated with fungi and functions as a germination and growth inhibitor in several species. By investigating its effect on the biosynthesis of patulin, a mycotoxin made by Penicillium expansum, it was found that a sub-inhibitory level of volatile 1-octen-3-ol increased accumulation of patulin on a medium that normally suppresses the mycotoxin. Transcriptomic sequencing and comparisons of control and treated P. expansum grown on potato dextrose agar (PDA; patulin permissive) or secondary medium agar (SMA; patulin suppressive) revealed that the expression of gox2, a gene encoding a glucose oxidase, was significantly affected, decreasing 10-fold on PDA and increasing 85-fold on SMA. Thirty other genes, mostly involved in transmembrane transport, oxidation-reduction, and carbohydrate metabolism were also differently expressed on the two media.