The biosynthesis of ochratoxin A by Penicillium as one mechanism for adaptation to NaCl rich foods

Presence of ochratoxin A on the surface of dry-cured Iberian ham after initial fungal growth in the drying stage

“…With regard to P. verrucosum, it is mainly adapted to cereals, but can occasionally be found on drycured ham (Andersen, 1995;Comi, Orlic, Redzepovic, Urso, & Iacumin, 2004;Peintner, Geiger, & Pöder, 2000). The difference of counts found in both Penicillium species (P ≤0.05) could be explained by the higher capacity of adaptation of P. nordicum to sodium chloride rich foods (Schmidt-Heydt, Graf, Stoll, et al, 2011). Other OTA producing Aspergillus species such as A. carbonarius, A. niger, A. ochraceus, A. westerdjkiae and A. steynii (Belli et al, 2005;Gil-Serna, Vázquez, Sardiñas, González-Jaén, & Patiño, 2011;Leong et al, 2007;Varga & Kozakiewicz, 2006) are specially adapted to various food commodities like grapes, coffee, cocoa or spices (Bayman & Baker, 2006).…”

“…This makes sense as most strains of P. nordicum are strong and constant OTA producers (Larsen, Svendsen, & Smedsgaard, 2001;Lund & Frisvad, 2003). However, P. verrucosum produces generally less and more inconsistent OTA (Schmidt-Heydt, Graf, Stoll, et al, 2011). In previous studies, Iacumin et al (2009) demonstrated that some dry-fermented sausages contaminated with OTA were due to the presence of both P. verrucosum and P. nordicum species.…”

Occurrence and potential transfer of mycotoxins in gilthead sea bream and Atlantic salmon by use of novel alternative feed ingredients

“…The A. niger strains are also known to produce OTA (Accensi et al, 2004), which could be a source for the detected OTA in one of the PAP samples. The fungi Penicillium nordicum is the most known OTA producer (Larsen et al, 2001;Lund and Frisvad, 2003) and grows well at low temperatures on meat products but mostly only at increased salinity (Schmidt-Heydt et al, 2012). Storage OTA contamination by P. nordicum is, therefore, often limited to salted meat food products such as cured ham and sausage (Sonjak et al, 2011;Schmidt-Heydt et al, 2012).…”

“…The fungi Penicillium nordicum is the most known OTA producer (Larsen et al, 2001;Lund and Frisvad, 2003) and grows well at low temperatures on meat products but mostly only at increased salinity (Schmidt-Heydt et al, 2012). Storage OTA contamination by P. nordicum is, therefore, often limited to salted meat food products such as cured ham and sausage (Sonjak et al, 2011;Schmidt-Heydt et al, 2012). Products of animal origin such as pork and poultry raw meat or blood products can be also indirectly contaminated by OTA when monogastric animals are fed with contaminated feed stuffs (EFSA, 2004a) as dietary OTA can be transferred from the feed to animal meat (Malagutti et al, 2005).…”

HOG MAP kinase regulation of alternariol biosynthesis in Alternaria alternata is important for substrate colonization

“…In Penicillium nordicum reduced water activity provoked by increased concentrations of NaCl leads to an induction of ochratoxin A (OTA) biosynthesis (Schmidt-Heydt et al, 2011). In Penicillium verrucosum increasing amounts of NaCl inhibit citrinin biosynthesis for the benefit of the biosynthesis of ochratoxin A (Schmidt-Heydt et al, 2012). In direct contrast low amounts of NaCl lead to a complete inhibition of trichothecene biosynthesis in Fusarium graminearum (Ochiai et al, 2007a).…”