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Volume 3, Issue 2 (Suppl)
Med Mycol Open Access
ISSN: 2471-8521
Mycology 2017
September 25-26, 2017
Page 25
Notes:
conference
series
.com
September 25-26, 2017 Chicago, USA
2
nd
International Conference on
Mycology & Mushrooms
Biosynthesis and regulating mechanisms of patulin in Fungi
Statement of the Problem:
Contamination of food and feed by fungal secondary metabolites known as mycotoxins is a global
health issue. Patulin is one of important mycotoxins, and produced by several species belonging to
Penicillium, Aspergillus,
Paecilomyces, Byssochlamys.
Among them,
Penicillium expansum
infects a wide range of fruits and vegetables, and is the
main producer of patulin. Long-term exposure to patulin may cause serious health issues in humans, because patulin can
induce immunological, neurological and gastrointestinal diseases. Level of patulin in food has been limited in many countries
worldwide. However, the molecular mechanisms of biosynthesis and regulation of patulin are still unclear. Here, we identified
the gene cluster of patulin in
P. expansum
, and characterized functions of patulin genes.
Methodology & Theoretical Orientation:
Whole genome sequencing was performed for patulin producer
P. expansum
and
non-patulin producer
Penicillium italicum
. Bioinformatic analysis was used to identify patulin gene cluster. Knockout analysis
and subcellular localization were used to characterize gene function.
Findings:
Whole genome sequences of
P. expansum
(33.52 Mb) and
P. italicum
(28.99 Mb) were obtained. A total of 71
backbone genes and 55 gene clusters related to secondary metabolism were predicted in
P. expansum
. Further, we identified a
cluster of 15 genes responsible for the biosynthesis of patulin. Patulin gene clusters within more than 10
P. expansum
related
fungal species were compared and gene loss in some non-patulin producing species was identified. The importance of all
the genes in patulin cluster is ascertained by gene knockout analysis. Deletion of the majority of genes completely blocked
patulin production. Among them, PePatL may act as a pathway specific transcription factor, and play essential role in patulin
biosynthesis. Moreover, LaeA, a global regulator, was also involved in the regulation of patulin regulation. In addition, patulin
production did not contribute to the pathogenicity of
P. expansum
.
Conclusion & Significance:
Our findings indicate previously unknown roles of genes in the patulin cluster and cast insight
into the molecular mechanism in biosynthesis and regulation of this important mycotoxin
Biography
Shiping Tian has her expertise in postharvest biology and technology in fruits. Her research fields mainly focus on Molecular mechanism of fruit ripening, senes-
cence and quality maintenance; pathogenicity and mycotoxin biosynthetic pathway of fungal pathogens and regulating mechanisms; induced resistance of fruit
against postharvest fungal pathogens. She has published more than 150 papers in international journals such as
Genome Biology, Plant Journal, Molecular and
Cellular Proteomics, Molecular Plant and Microbe Interactions.
She also acts as an Associate Editor of an international journal
Postharvest Biology and Technology
.
tsp@ibcas.ac.cnShiping Tian
Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Shiping Tian, Med Mycol Open Access, 3:2, 2017
DOI: 10.21767/2471-8521-C1-001