Molecular characterization of ochratoxin A producing penicillia

Sixty-six strains classified as P. verrucosum based on morphological criteria were characterized by RAPD analysis. Two groups could be identified which differed in their ability to produce ochratoxin A (OTA). Group I originating from proteinacious foods containing mainly high OTA producing strains, and group II originating from plants containing moderate to non-producing strains. The differences at the RAPD level are consistent with the recent reclassification of ochratoxin A producing penicillia to be either P. verrucosum or P. nordicum.     

Molecular characterization of ochratoxin A producing strains of the genus Penicillium

Sixty-six strains classified as P. verrucosum based on morphological criteria were characterized by molecular methods like RAPD, AFLP and ITS sequencing. Two groups could be identified by RAPD and AFLP analyses. The two RAPD as well as the two AFLP groups were completely coincidental. Strains in the two groups differed in their ability to produce ochratoxin A, with group I containing mainly high producing strains, and group II containing moderate to non-producing strains. The strains from group I originate from foods, such as cheeses and meat products, while the strains from group II originate from plants. The ribosomal ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 sequences were similar, except for two single nucleotide exchanges in several strains of each group. A chemotaxonomical analysis of some of the strains identified differences between the groups in secondary metabolite production. Strains from group I possessed the chemotype of P. nordicum and strains from group II that of P. verrucosum. The differences at the RAPD and AFLP level, which parallel the chemotypic differences, are consistent with the recent reclassification of ochratoxin A producing penicillia to be either P. verrucosum or P. nordicum. The homolgy between the ITS sequences however indicates phylogenetic relationship between the two species.     

Genetic background of ochratoxin A production inPenicillium

A part of the gene cluster responsible for the production of ochratoxin A inP. nordicum has been characterised recently. The analysed DNA region contains three putative genes: an alcaline proteinase (aspPN), a non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (npsPN) and an polyketide synthase (otapksPN). The last two genes are putative genes of the ochratoxin A biosynthetic pathway. Interestingly theotapksPN gene is present in this form only inP. nordicum but not inP. verrucosum indicating genetic differences between both ochratoxin A producingPenicillium species. The genes in ochratoxin A producingAspergillus species seems to be completely different. It has been demonstrated that thenpsPN gene is actively transcribed inP. nordicum under ochratoxin A producing conditions, indicating that this gene is involved in ochratoxin A biosynthesis.     

Biochemical characterization of ochratoxin A-producing strains of the genus Penicillium

In order to explore the biochemical scope of ochratoxin A-producing penicillia, we screened 48 Penicillium verrucosum isolates for the production of secondary metabolites. Fungal metabolites were analyzed by high-pressure liquid or gas chromatography coupled to diode array detection or mass spectrometry. The following metabolites were identified: ochratoxins A and B, citrinin, verrucolones, verrucines, anacines, sclerotigenin, lumpidin, fumiquinazolines, alantrypinones, daldinin D, dipodazine, penigequinolines A and B, 2-pentanone, and 2-methyl-isoborneol. By use of average linking clustering based on binary (nonvolatile) metabolite data, the 48 isolates could be grouped into two large and clearly separated groups and a small outlying group of four non-ochratoxin-producing isolates. The largest group, containing 24 isolates, mainly originating from plant sources, included the type culture of P. verrucosum. These isolates produced ochratoxin A, verrucolones, citrinin, and verrucines and had a characteristic dark brown reverse color on yeast extract-sucrose agar medium. Almost all of a group of 20 isolates mainly originating from cheese and meat products had a pale cream reverse color on yeast extract-sucrose agar medium and produced ochratoxin A, verrucolones, anacines, and sclerotigenin. This group included the former type culture of P. nordicum. We also found that P. verrucosum isolates and three P. nordicum isolates incorporated phenylalanine into verrucine and lumpidin metabolites, a finding which could explain why those isolates produced relatively lower levels of ochratoxins than did most isolates of P. nordicum.     

Penicillium viridicatum, Penicillium verrucosum, and production of ochratoxin A

The taxonomy of the important mycotoxigenic species Penicillium viridicatum and P. verrucosum was reviewed to clarify disagreements relating to the three P. viridicatum groups erected by Ciegler and coworkers (A. Ciegler, D. I. Fennell, G. A. Sansing, R. W. Detroy, and G. A. Bennett, Appl. Microbiol. 26:271-278, 1973) and the mycotoxins produced by them. Cultures derived from the types of these two species and authentic cultures from each group and from many other sources were examined culturally, microscopically, and for mycotoxin production. It was concluded that P. viridicatum group II has affinities with P. verrucosum and not with P. viridicatum, as indicated by J. I. Pitt in the 1979 monograph (The Genus Penicillium and Its Teleomorphic States Eupenicillium and Talaromyces). As a result of this study it can now be unequivocally stated that the mycotoxins ochratoxin A and citrinin are not produced by P. viridicatum. Of species in subgenus Penicillium, only P. verrucosum is known to produce ochratoxin A.     

Penicillium viridicatum, Penicillium verrucosum, and production of ochratoxin A.

The taxonomy of the important mycotoxigenic species Penicillium viridicatum and P. verrucosum was reviewed to clarify disagreements relating to the three P. viridicatum groups erected by Ciegler and coworkers (A. Ciegler, D. I. Fennell, G. A. Sansing, R. W. Detroy, and G. A. Bennett, Appl. Microbiol. 26:271-278, 1973) and the mycotoxins produced by them. Cultures derived from the types of these two species and authentic cultures from each group and from many other sources were examined culturally, microscopically, and for mycotoxin production. It was concluded that P. viridicatum group II has affinities with P. verrucosum and not with P. viridicatum, as indicated by J. I. Pitt in the 1979 monograph (The Genus Penicillium and Its Teleomorphic States Eupenicillium and Talaromyces). As a result of this study it can now be unequivocally stated that the mycotoxins ochratoxin A and citrinin are not produced by P. viridicatum. Of species in subgenus Penicillium, only P. verrucosum is known to produce ochratoxin A.     

Penicillium-species fungi--producers of ochratoxin A in grain]

The occurrence of ochratoxin A and ochratoxigenic fungi in the commercial batches of various domestic grains (wheat, rye, barley, corn and rice) has been studied. Penicillium cyclopium, P. viridicatum and P. chrysogenum isolated from grain synthesized on a sucrose-yeast medium predominantly patulin, penicillic and kojic acids. Only 4.4% of the fungal isolates were able to synthesize ochratoxin A. The concentration of the mycotoxin accumulated by the fungi was less than 500 micrograms/kg. 230 samples of wheat and 502 samples of corn were examined. The analysis showed that ochratoxin A was present in 0.9% and 0.1% of samples tested, respectively. The mycotoxin accumulated in grain mainly during its spontaneous heating and was concentrated in mold-damaged kernels.     

The barbamide biosynthetic gene cluster: a novel marine cyanobacterial system of mixed polyketide synthase (PKS)-non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) origin involving an unusual trichloroleucyl starter unit

Barbamide was extracted from the marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula strain 19L as a chlorinated lipopeptide for its potent molluscicidal activity. Precursor incorporation studies indicated that it is derived from acetate, L-phenylalanine, L-leucine and L-cysteine. The gene cluster responsible for biosynthesis of barbamide (bar) was cloned and characterized in this study. DNA sequence analysis of cosmid pLM49 revealed a cluster of 12 open reading frames (barA-barK) extending 26 kb including the expected polyketide synthase and non-ribosomal peptide synthetase modules and tailoring genes. The genetic architecture and domain organization of the bar cluster supports the assignment based on the apparent co-linearity of the systems. The activity assay of adenylation domains of barD (A(D)), barE (A(E)) and barG (A(G2) for module 2) in an amino acid-dependent ATP-pyrophosphate exchange experiment supports the conclusion that barbamide is synthesized from acetate, L-phenylalanine, L-cysteine and L-leucine with trichloroleucine as a direct precursor by a mixed polyketide synthase/non-ribosomal polypeptide synthetase. Assembly of barbamide includes unique biochemical mechanisms for chlorination, one-carbon truncation during chain elongation, E-double bond formation and thiazole ring formation.     

Cloning, characterization, and high-level expression in Escherichia coli of the Saccharopolyspora erythraea gene encoding an acyl carrier protein potentially involved in fatty acid biosynthesis.

The erythromycin A-producing polyketide synthase from the gram-positive bacterium Saccharopolyspora erythraea (formerly Streptomyces erythraeus) has evident structural similarity to fatty acid synthases, particularly to the multifunctional fatty acid synthases found in eukaryotic cells. Fatty acid synthesis in S. erythraea has previously been proposed to involve a discrete acyl carrier protein (ACP), as in most prokaryotic fatty acid synthases. We have cloned and sequenced the structural gene for this ACP and find that it does encode a discrete small protein. The gene lies immediately adjacent to an open reading frame whose gene product shows sequence homology to known beta-ketoacyl-ACP synthases. A convenient expression system for the S. erythraea ACP was obtained by placing the gene in the expression vector pT7-7 in Escherichia coli. In this system the ACP was efficiently expressed at levels 10 to 20% of total cell protein. The recombinant ACP was active in promoting the synthesis of branched-chain acyl-ACP species by extracts of S. erythraea. Electrospray mass spectrometry is shown to be an excellent method for monitoring the efficiency of in vivo posttranslational modification of ACPs.     

New approach for the detection of non-ribosomal peptide synthetase genes in Bacillus strains by polymerase chain reaction

Bacillus strains produce non-ribosomal lipopeptides that can be grouped into three families: surfactins or lichenysins, iturins and fengycins or plispastatins. These biosurfactants show a broad spectrum of biological activities. To detect strains able to produce these lipopeptides, a new polymerase chain reaction screening approach was developed using degenerated primers based on the intraoperon alignment of adenylation and thiolation nucleic acid domains of all enzymes implicated in the biosynthesis of each lipopeptide family. The comparative bioinformatics analyses of each operon led to the design of four primer pairs for the three families taking into account the differences between open reading frames of each synthetase gene. Tested on different Bacillus sp. strains, this technique was used successfully to detect not only the expected genes in the lipopeptide producing strains but also the presence of a plispastatin gene in Bacillus subtilis ATCC 21332 and a gene showing a high similarity with the polyketide synthase type I gene in the B. subtilis ATCC 6633 genome. It also led to the discovery of the presence of non-ribosomal peptide synthetase genes in Bacillus thuringiensis serovar berliner 1915 and in Bacillus cereus LMG 2098. In addition, this work highlighted the differences between the fengycin and plipastatin operon at DNA level.     

Penicillium verrucosum in wheat and barley indicates presence of ochratoxin A

AIMS: The aims of this study were to isolate and identify ochratoxin A (OTA) producing fungi in cereals containing OTA and to determine the best selective and indicative medium for recovery of OTA producing fungi. METHODS AND RESULTS: Seventy-six wheat, barley and rye samples from Europe containing OTA and 17 samples without OTA were investigated using three different media, dichloran yeast sucrose agar (DYSG), dichloran rose bengal yeast extract sucrose agar (DRYES) and dichloran 18% glycerol agar (DG18). Hundred kernels were plated on each medium and the kind and number of fungal OTA producers were recorded as percentage of infestation. Penicillium verrucosum was the sole OTA producer found in cereals. The average percentage of infestation of P. verrucosum counts was recorded as 28.3% on DYSG, 10.3% on DRYES and 9.9% on DG18 on the OTA containing samples and 0.8% on DYSG, 0.4% on DRYES and 0.6% on DG18 for the samples without OTA. CONCLUSIONS: Penicillium verrucosum was the sole OTA producer in European cereals. Determination of P. verrucosum infestation and infection was best detected on DYSG after 7 days at 20 degrees C. The percentage of infestation of P. verrucosum found on DYSG and OTA content in cereals were correlated. More than 7% infestation of P. verrucosum indicated OTA contamination. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The developed method could be used as a cereal quality control.     

Cloning and verification of the Lactococcus lactis pyrG gene and characterization of the gene product, CTP synthase

The pyrG gene of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, encoding CTP synthase, has been cloned and sequenced. It is flanked upstream by an open reading frame showing homology to several aminotransferases and downstream by an open reading frame of unknown function. L. lactis strains harboring disrupted pyrG alleles were constructed. These mutants required cytidine for growth, proving that in L. lactis, the pyrG product is the only enzyme responsible for the amination of UTP to CTP. In contrast to the situation in Escherichia coli, an L. lactis pyrG mutant could be constructed in the presence of a functional cdd gene encoding cytidine deaminase. A characterization of the enzyme revealed similar properties as found for CTP synthases from other organisms. However, unlike the majority of CTP synthases the lactococcal enzyme can convert dUTP to dCTP, although a half saturation concentration of 0.6 mm for dUTP makes it unlikely that this reaction plays a significant physiological role. As for other CTP synthases, the oligomeric structure of the lactococcal enzyme was found to be a tetramer, but unlike most of the other previously characterized enzymes, the tetramer was very stable even at dilute enzyme concentrations.     

Ochratoxin A producing Penicillium verrucosum isolates from cereals reveal large AFLP fingerprinting variability

AIMS: To examine if molecular amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting of the only ochratoxin A-producing species in European cereals, Penicillium verrucosum, can be used as a method in hazard analysis using critical control points (HACCP). METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 321 isolates of P. verrucosum were isolated from ochratoxin A-contaminated cereals from Denmark (oats), UK (wheat and barley) and Sweden (wheat). Of these, 236 produced ochratoxin A as determined by thin layer chromatography; 185 ochratoxin A-producing isolates were selected for AFLP fingerprinting. A total of 138 isolates had unique AFLP patterns, whereas 52 isolates could be allocated to small groups containing from two to four isolates with similar AFLP patterns. A total of 155 clones were found among the 185 P. verrucosum isolates, thus 84% of the isolates may represent different genets of P. verrucosum. As the few isolates that were grouped often came from the same farm, and those groups that contained AFLP-identical isolates from different countries were morphotypically different. On single farms up to 35 clones were found. The few groups of ramets from the same genet indicated that a HACCP approach based on clones may require a very large number of AFLP analysis to work in practice, we recommend basing the HACCP approach on the actual species P. verrucosum. A more detailed characterization should rather be based on the profile of species present at different control points, or analysis of the mycotoxins ochratoxin A and citrinin in the isolates. Examination of 86 isolates with HPLC and diode array detection of P. verrucosum showed that 66% produced ochratoxin A, 87% produced citrinin, 92% produced verrucin and 100% produced verrucolone. CONCLUSIONS: Among 184 ochratoxin A-producing Penicillium verrucosum, 155 clonal lineages were indicated by AFLP fingerprinting, indicating a high genetical diversity, yet the species P. verrucosum is phenotypically distinct and valid. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: AFLP fingerprinting of Penicillium verrucosum indicates that genetic recombination takes place in this fungus.     

A polyketide synthase gene, ACRTS2, is responsible for biosynthesis of host-selective ACR-toxin in the rough lemon pathotype of Alternaria alternata

The rough lemon pathotype of Alternaria alternata produces host-selective ACR-toxin and causes Alternaria leaf spot disease of rough lemon (Citrus jambhiri). The structure of ACR-toxin I (MW = 496) consists of a polyketide with an α-dihydropyrone ring in a 19-carbon polyalcohol. Genes responsible for toxin production were localized to a 1.5-Mb chromosome in the genome of the rough lemon pathotype. Sequence analysis of this chromosome revealed an 8,338-bp open reading frame, ACRTS2, that was present only in the genomes of ACR-toxin-producing isolates. ACRTS2 is predicted to encode a putative polyketide synthase of 2,513 amino acids and belongs to the fungal reducing type I polyketide synthases. Typical polyketide functional domains were identified in the predicted amino acid sequence, including β-ketoacyl synthase, acyl transferase, methyl transferase, dehydratase, β-ketoreductase, and phosphopantetheine attachment site domains. Combined use of homologous recombination-mediated gene disruption and RNA silencing allowed examination of the functional role of multiple paralogs in ACR-toxin production. ACRTS2 was found to be essential for ACR-toxin production and pathogenicity of the rough lemon pathotype of A. alternata.