Aspergillus flavus is a ubiquitous saprophyte that is able to produce the most potent natural carcinogenic compound known as aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). This toxin frequently contaminates crops including corn, cotton, peanuts, and tree nuts causing substantial economic loss worldwide. Consequently, more than 100 countries have strict regulations limiting AFB1 in foodstuffs and feedstuffs. Plants and microbes are able to produce volatile compounds that act as a defense mechanism against other organisms. Pichia anomala strain WRL-076 is a biocontrol yeast currently being tested to reduce AF contamination of tree nuts in California. We used the SPME-GC/MS analysis and identified the major volatile compound produced by this strain to be 2-phenylethanol (2-PE). It inhibited spore germination and AF production of A. flavus. Inhibition of AF formation by 2-PE was correlated with significant down regulation of clustering AF biosynthesis genes as evidenced by several to greater than 10,000-fold decrease in gene expression. In a time-course analysis we found that 2-PE also altered the expression patterns of chromatin modifying genes, MYST1, MYST2, MYST3, gcn5, hdaA and rpdA. The biocontrol capacity of P. anomala can be attributed to the production of 2-PE, which affects spore germination, growth, toxin production, and gene expression in A. flavus.
The saprophytic soil fungus Aspergillus flavus infects crops and produces aflatoxin. Pichia anomala, which is a biocontrol yeast and produces the major volatile 2-phenylethanol (2-PE), is able to reduce growth of A. flavus and aflatoxin production when applied onto pistachio trees. High levels of 2-PE are lethal to A. flavus and other fungi. However, at low levels, the underlying mechanism of 2-PE to inhibit aflatoxin production remains unclear. In this study, we characterized the temporal transcriptome response of A. flavus to 2-PE at a subinhibitory level (1 µL/mL) using RNA-Seq technology and bioinformatics tools. The treatment during the entire 72 h experimental period resulted in 131 of the total A. flavus 13,485 genes to be significantly impacted, of which 82 genes exhibited decreased expression. They included those encoding conidiation proteins and involved in cyclopiazonic acid biosynthesis. All genes in the aflatoxin gene cluster were also significantly decreased during the first 48 h treatment. Gene Ontology (GO) analyses showed that biological processes with GO terms related to catabolism of propionate and branched-chain amino acids (valine, leucine and isoleucine) were significantly enriched in the down-regulated gene group, while those associated with ribosome biogenesis, translation, and biosynthesis of α-amino acids were over-represented among the up-regulated genes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis revealed that metabolic pathways negatively impacted among the down-regulated genes parallel to those active at 30 °C, a condition conducive to aflatoxin biosynthesis. In contrast, metabolic pathways positively related to the up-regulated gene group resembled those at 37 °C, which favors rapid fungal growth and is inhibitory to aflatoxin biosynthesis. The results showed that 2-PE at a low level stimulated active growth of A. flavus but concomitantly rendered decreased activities in branched-chain amino acid degradation. Since secondary metabolism occurs after active growth has ceased, this growth stimulation resulted in suppression of expression of aflatoxin biosynthesis genes. On the other hand, increased activities in degradation pathways for branched-chain amino acids probably are required for the activation of the aflatoxin pathway by providing building blocks and energy regeneration. Metabolic flux in primary metabolism apparently has an important role in the expression of genes of secondary metabolism.
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