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Abstract
Aspergillus flavus is an opportunistic pathogenic fungus for both plant and animal that produces carcinogenic toxins termed aflatoxins (AFs). To identify possible genetic targets to reduce AF contamination, in this study, we have characterized a novel A. flavus Set3, and it shares sequence homology with the yeast protein Set3. The set3 deletion mutants present no difference in growth rate but alterations in asexual development and secondary metabolite production when compared to the A. flavus wild type. Specifically, deletion of set3 gene decreases conidiophore formation and conidial production through downregulating expression of brlA and abaA genes. In addition, normal levels of set3 are required for sclerotial development and expression of sclerotia-related genes nsdC and sclR. Further analyses demonstrated that Set3 negatively regulates AF production as well as the concomitant expression of genes in the AF gene cluster. Importantly, our results also display that A. flavus Set3 is involved in crop kernel colonization. Taking together, these results reveal that a novel Set3 plays crucial roles in morphological development, secondary metabolism, and fungal virulence in A. flavus.
Highlights
As both plant and animal opportunistic pathogenic fungus, Aspergillus flavus is responsible for serious health and economic impacts worldwide by producing carcinogenic mycotoxins termed aflatoxins (AFs)
Expression levels of set3 in wild-type strain (WT), Δset3, and Δset3-com strains were analyzed by RT-polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the results showed that set3 gene transcript level was not expressed in those deletion strains, whereas set3 was detected in both the WT and Δset3-com strains (Figure 3C)
In addition to fungal growth, Δset3-1 and Δset3-2 strains were found to decrease severely in conidiation when compared to WT strains (Figure 4B)
Summary
As both plant and animal opportunistic pathogenic fungus, Aspergillus flavus is responsible for serious health and economic impacts worldwide by producing carcinogenic mycotoxins termed aflatoxins (AFs). AFs are responsible for numerous health problems, including acute aflatoxicosis, immunosuppression, liver cancer, and even death in many animal species and human. These diseases are highly linked to the consumption of large amounts of AFs due to ingestion of contaminated crops (Hedayati et al, 2007; Klich, 2007). AF contamination leads to substantial monetary losses yearly, due in large part to rejection or reduced value of contaminated crops as well as costs associated with monitoring and detection in developed countries (Wu et al, 2014).
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