Genotypic and phenotypic versatility of Aspergillus flavus during maize exploitation.

ABSTRACT: Aspergillus flavus is a cosmopolitan fungus able to respond to external stimuli and to shift both its trophic behaviour and the production of secondary metabolites, including that of the carcinogen aflatoxin (AF). To better understand the adaptability of this fungus, we examined genetic and phenotypic responses within the fungus when grown under four conditions that mimic different ecological niches ranging from saprophytic growth to parasitism. Global transcription changes were observed in both primary and secondary metabolism in response to these conditions, particularly in secondary metabolism where transcription of nearly half of the predicted secondary metabolite clusters changed in response to the trophic states of the fungus. The greatest transcriptional change was found between sap

SUBMITTER: Reverberi M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3716879 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature