Aspergillus Goes Viral: Ecological Insights from the Geographical Distribution of the Mycovirome within an Aspergillus flavus Population and Its Possible Correlation with Aflatoxin Biosynthesis

Journal of Fungi

Lucia Dramis¹  Francesca Degola¹  Giorgio Spadola¹  Walter Chitarra²  Luca Nerva²  Marco Forgia²  Massimo Turina² 

[1] Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 11/A, 43124 Parma, Italy;Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, CNR, Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135 Torino, Italy;

关键词: Aspergillus flavus;    mycovirome;    aflatoxin;    vivivirus;    fungal population ecology;   

DOI  :  10.3390/jof7100833

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Microbial multi-level interactions are essential to control the success of spreading and survival of most microbes in natural environments. Phytopathogenic mycotoxigenic fungal species, such as Aspergillus flavus, represent an important issue in food safety. Usually, non-toxigenic strains are exploited for biocontrol strategies to mitigate infections by toxigenic strains. To comprehend all the biological variables involved in the aflatoxin biosynthesis, and to possibly evaluate the interplay between A. flavus toxigenic and non-toxigenic strains during intraspecific biocompetition, the “virological” perspective should be considered. For these reasons, investigations on mycoviruses associated to A. flavus populations inhabiting specific agroecosystems are highly desirable. Here, we provide the first accurate characterization of the novel mycovirome identified within an A. flavus wild population colonizing the maize fields of northern Italy: a selection of A. flavus strains was biologically characterized and subjected to RNAseq analysis, revealing new mycoviruses and a peculiar geographic pattern distribution in addition to a 20% rate of infection. More interestingly, a negative correlation between viral infection and aflatoxin production was found. Results significantly expanded the limited existent data about mycoviruses in wild A. flavus, opening new and intriguing hypotheses about the ecological significance of mycoviruses.

【 授权许可】

Unknown