Abstract
In fungi, contactless interactions are mediated via the exchange of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). As these pair-wise interactions are fundamental to complex ecosystem, we examined the effects of inter-species VOCs trade-offs in Aspergillus flavus development. First, we exposed A. flavus to the A. oryzae volatilome (Treatment-1) with highest relative abundance of 1-Octen-3-ol (~ 4.53 folds) among the C-8 VOCs. Further, we examined the effects of gradient titers of 1-Octen-3-ol (Treatment-2: 100–400 ppm/day) in a range that elicits natural interactions. On 7-day, VOC-treated A. flavus displayed significantly reduced growth and sclerotial counts (p < 0.01) coupled with higher conidial density (T2100-200 ppm/day, p < 0.01) and α-amylase secretion (T2200 ppm/day, p < 0.01), compared to the untreated sets. Similar phenotypic trends except for α-amylases were evident for 9-day incubated A. flavus in T2. The corresponding metabolomics data displayed a clustered pattern of secondary metabolite profiles for VOC-treated A. flavus (PC1-18.03%; PC2-10.67%). Notably, a higher relative abundance of aflatoxin B1 with lower levels of most anthraquinones, indole-terpenoids, and oxylipins was evident in VOC-treated A. flavus. The observed correlations among the VOC-treatments, phenotypes, and altered metabolomes altogether suggest that the distant exposure to the gradient titers of 1-Octen-3-ol elicits an attenuated developmental response in A. flavus characterized by heightened virulence.
Highlights
In fungi, contactless interactions are mediated via the exchange of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
We first examined the production profiles of C-8 VOCs in the A. oryzae headspace during its twin-plate incubation (7–9 days) with partner strain A. flavus
We examined the effects of A. oryzae volatilome with the highest relative abundance of 1-Octen-3-ol on the growth and developmental phenotypes of A. flavus incubated in plate 1 (P1) of twinplate assembly
Summary
Contactless interactions are mediated via the exchange of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). As these pair-wise interactions are fundamental to complex ecosystem, we examined the effects of inter-species VOCs trade-offs in Aspergillus flavus development. A few studies have suggested the antagonistic roles of fungal VOCs, mediating their cross-kingdom ecological interactions, whereby the growth and metabolism of interacting species are significantly modulated. 2-Octenal) were the most abundant and likely influenced the growth, sclerotia development, enzymes secretion, and the metabolite profiles among the interacting A. oryzae strains. Though 1-Octen-3-ol is ubiquitous and its importance in the context of the growth and development of Aspergillus species is well-recognized, the mechanisms linking its semiochemical function to its specific effects on secondary metabolism in fungi, are largely unknown. We aimed to estimate the likely interactions of Aspergillus in specific fermented food matrices, where the C-8 VOCs are produced and shared among inoculated molds, for example, between A. oryzae and toxicogenic contaminant species such as A. flavus
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