Ecophysiological characterization of Aspergillus carbonarius, Aspergillus tubingensis and Aspergillus niger isolated from grapes in Spanish vineyards

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the diversity of black aspergilli isolated from berries from different agroclimatic regions of Spain. Growth characterization (in terms of temperature and water activity requirements) of Aspergillus carbonarius, Aspergillus tubingensis and Aspergillus niger was carried out on synthetic grape medium. A. tubingensis and A. niger showed higher maximum temperatures for growth (>45 °C versus 40-42 °C), and lower minimum aw requirements (0.83 aw versus 0.87 aw) than A. carbonarius. No differences in growth boundaries due to their geographical origin were found within A. niger aggregate isolates. Conversely, A. carbonarius isolates from the hotter and drier region grew and produced OTA at lower aw than other isolates. However, little genetic diversity in A. carbonarius was observed for the microsatellites tested and the same sequence of β-tubulin gene was observed; therefore intraspecific variability did not correlate with the geographical origin of the isolates or with their ability to produce OTA. Climatic change prediction points to drier and hotter climatic scenarios where A. tubingensis and A. niger could be even more prevalent over A. carbonarius, since they are better adapted to extreme high temperature and drier conditions.

Identification and mycotoxigenic capacity of fungi associated with pre- and postharvest fruit rots of pomegranates in Greece and Cyprus

“…The Aspergillus population consisted exclusively of A. niger and A. tubingensis, with the former being the dominant. Studies worldwide have identified section Nigri as the Aspergillus group responsible for OTA production, with A. carbonarius considered the main contamination source compared with other biseriate species of the A. niger aggregate (Garcia-Cela et al, 2014;Susca et al, 2014). In our study in vivo OTA production was evident in 8.4% and 14.3% of the A. niger and A. tubingensis isolates, respectively.…”

Conidia survival of Aspergillus section Nigri, Flavi and Circumdati under UV‐A and UV‐B radiation with cycling temperature/light regime

“…Additionally, the species studied in this work were isolated from two different regions; however, no different sensitivity to UV was observed due to the origin of isolation. By contrast, previous works with Aspergillus species showed slightly different ecological profiles due to the origin of isolation …”

An Antifungal Role of Hydrogen Sulfide on the Postharvest Pathogens Aspergillus niger and Penicillium italicum

“…Considerable postharvest decay is caused by plant fungal pathogens [2]. It has been reported that Aspergillus niger can induce the spoilage of fruits such as cherry tomatoes and grapes, and Penicillium italicum can cause postharvest blue mold of citrus fruit [3], [4], [5]. Decay caused by food-borne bacterial pathogens AR also a major concern due to the increasing demands for food safety [6].…”