Ammonia activates pacC and patulin accumulation in an acidic environment during apple colonization by Penicillium expansum.

ABSTRACT: Penicillium expansum, the causal agent of blue mould rot, causes severe post-harvest fruit maceration simultaneously with the secretion of d-gluconic acid (GLA) and the mycotoxin patulin in colonized tissue. The factor(s) inducing patulin biosynthesis during colonization of the host acidic environment is unclear. During the colonization of apple fruit in vivo and growth in culture, P. expansum secretes pH-modulating GLA and ammonia. Although patulin and its possible opportunistic precursor GLA accumulate together during fungal development, ammonia is detected on the colonized tissue's leading edge and after extended culture, close to patulin accumulation. Here, we demonstrate ammonia-induced transcript activation of the global pH modulator PacC and patulin accumulation in the presence of G

SUBMITTER: Barad S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6638319 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature