Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Gliotoxin production by Aspergillus fumigatus strains from animal environment. Micro-analytical sample treatment combined with a LC-MS/MS method for gliotoxin determination

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Mycotoxin Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this study, gliotoxin production by Aspergillus fumigatus strains from animal environment is studied. Moreover, a rapid, easy and environment-friendly micro-analytical sample treatment procedure coupled with LC-MS/MS was applied for the determination of gliotoxin from A. fumigatus cultures. The ability of gliotoxin production by 143 strains was assayed in yeast extract sucrose agar, and 1 ml of chloroform was used for toxin extraction without further clean-up. Mean recoveries at two spiking levels (2500 and 7000 ng/g; n = 6) were 100.3 ± 6.6 % relative SD (RSD) and 92.4 ± 3.8 % RSD. Repeatability and within-laboratory reproducibility for different concentration levels of gliotoxin (25 to 1000 ng/ml; n = 12) ranged from 0.3 to 5.4 % RSD and from 3.9 to 12.7 % RSD, respectively. The detection limit of the analytical method was 3.5 ng/g. The ability for gliotoxin production by A. fumigatus revealed that 61.5 % of the strains were able to produce the toxin at levels ranging from LOQ to 3430.5 ng/g. However, all the tested samples had similar percentages of producing strains (81.8 to 86.6 %). The micro-analytical sample treatment coupled with LC-MS/MS detection is a precise and useful methodology for determining gliotoxin from fungal extracts of A. fumigatus and allows working both fast and safely and also reducing the effect on the environment. This toxin plays a critical role in the pathobiology of A. fumigatus, and its presence in animal environments could affect animal health and productivity; in addition, there are risks of contamination for rural workers during handling and storage of animal feedstuffs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alonso VA, Pereyra CM, Keller LAM, Dalcero AM, Rosa CAR, Chiacchiera SM, Cavaglieri LR (2013) Fungi and mycotoxins in silage: an overview. J Appl Microbiol 115(3):637–643

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bauer J, Gareis M, Bott A, Gedek B (1989) Isolation of a mycotoxin (gliotoxin) from a bovine udder infected with Aspergillus fumigatus. J Med Vet Mycol 27:45–50

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boudra H, Morgavi DP (2005) Mycotoxin risk evaluation in feeds contaminated by Aspergillus fumigatus. Anim Feed Sci Tech 120:113–123

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • CEN, European Committee for Standardisation (1999) Food analysis – biotoxins – criteria of analytical methods of mycotoxins. CEN Report CR 13505

  • Commission Decision No. 2002/657/EC of 14 August 2002 implementing Council Directive 96/23/EC concerning the performance of analytical methods and the interpretation of results-consolidated version 10 Jan 2004. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:2002D0657:20040110:EN:PDF. Accessed 31 December 2012

  • dos Santos VM, Dorner JW, Carreira F (2003) Isolation and toxigenicity of Aspergillus fumigatus from moldy silage. Mycopathologia 156:133–138

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fox M, Gray G, Kavanagh K, Lewis C, Doyle S (2004) Detection of Aspergillus fumigatus mycotoxins: immunogen synthesis and immunoassay development. J Microbiol Meth 56:221–230

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gareis M, Wernery U (1994) Determination of gliotoxin in samples associated with cases of intoxication in camels. Mycotoxin Res 10:2–8

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon K, Masotti R, Wadell W (1993) Tremorgenic encephalopathy: a role of mycotoxins in the production of CNS disease in humans. Can J Neurol Sci 20:237–239

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grovel O, Kerzaon I, Petit K, Robiou Du Pont T, Pouchus YF (2006) A new and rapid bioassay for the detection of gliotoxin and related epipolythiodioxopiperazines produced by fungi. J Microbiol Meth 66(2):286–293

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Klich MA, Pitt JY (2002) A laboratory guide to common Aspergillus species and their teleomorphs. CSIRO, Division of food Research Sydney. Academic Press, Australia

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis RE, Wiederhold NP, Chi J, Han XY, Komanduri KV, Kontoyiannis DP, Prince RA (2005a) Detection of gliotoxin in experimental and human aspergillosis. Infect Immun 73:635–637

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis RE, Wiederhold NP, Lionakis MS, Prince RA, Kontoyiannis DP (2005b) Frequency and species distribution of gliotoxin-producing Aspergillus isolates recovered from patients at a tertiary-care cancer center. J Clin Microbiol 43:6120–6122

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nieminen SM, Kärki R, Auriola S, Toivola M, Laatsch H, Laatikainen R, Hyvärinen A, von Wright A (2002) Isolation and identification of Aspergillus fumigatus mycotoxins on growth medium and some building materials. Appl Environ Microbiol 68(10):4871–4875

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pena GA, Pereyra CM, Armando MR, Chiacchiera SM, Magnoli CE, Orlando JL, Dalcero AM, Rosa CAR, Cavaglieri LR (2010) Aspergillus fumigatus toxicity and gliotoxin levels in feed stuff for domestic animals and pets in Argentina. Lett Appl Microbiol 50:77–81

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pena GA, Coelho I, Alonso V, Aminauel C, Fochesato A, Rosa CAR, Cavaglieri L (2014a) Marcadores moleculares neutros para la caracterización de Aspergillus fumigatus aislados de alimentos para animales en Argentina Abstract VIII Congreso Latinoamericano de Micología, Medellín, Colombia. Rev Actualidades Biol 36(1):396

    Google Scholar 

  • Pena GA, Monge MP, Landa MF, Dalcero AM, Rosa CAR, Cavaglieri LR (2014b) Growth and gliotoxin production by feed-borne Aspergillus fumigatus sensu stricto strains under different interacting environmental conditions. World Mycotoxin 8:75–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pereyra CM, Alonso VA, Rosa CAR, Chiacchiera SM, Dalcero AM, Cavaglieri LR (2008) Gliotoxin natural incidence of Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from corn silage and ready dairy cattle feed. World Mycotoxin J 1:457–462

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reeves EP, Messina CGM, Doyle S, Kavanagh K (2004) Correlation between gliotoxin production and virulence of Aspergillus fumigatus in Galleria mellonella. Mycopathologia 158:73–79

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Richard JL, Dvorak TJ, Ross PF (1996) Natural occurrence of gliotoxin in turkeys infected with Aspergillus fumigatus, Fresenius. Mycopathologia 134(3):167–170

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Samson RA, Hoekstra ES, Frisvad JC (2004) Introduction to food and airborne fungi, 7th edn. Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, the Netherlands, Utrecht

    Google Scholar 

  • Scharf DH, Heinekamp T, Remme N, Hortschansky P, Brakhage AA, Hertweck C (2012) Biosynthesis and function of gliotoxin in Aspergillus fumigatus. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 93:467–472

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sulyok M, Krska R, Schuhmacher R (2007) A liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometric multi-mycotoxin method for the quantification of 87 analytes and its application to semi-quantitative screening of moldy food samples. Anal Bioanal Chem 389:1505–1523

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Upperman JS, Potoka DA, Zhang X-R, Wong K, Zamora R, Ford HR (2003) Mechanism of intestinal derived fungal sepsis by gliotoxin, a fungal metabolite. J Pediatr Surg 38:966–970

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Van Pamel E, Verbeken A, Vlaemynck G, De Boever J, Daeseleire E (2011) Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric multimycotoxin method for quantitating 26 mycotoxins in maize silage. J Agric Food Chem 59(18):9747–9755

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by SECYT—Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto and PICT—Agencia Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología.

Conflict of interest

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Microbiología e Inmunología, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Ruta 36, km 601, Río Cuarto, X5804ZAB, Córdoba, Argentina

    G. A. Pena, M. L. González Pereyra, A. M. Dalcero & L. R. Cavaglieri

  2. Departamento de Química, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Ruta 36, km 601, Río Cuarto, X5804ZAB, Córdoba, Argentina

    M. P. Monge, C. A. R. Rosa & S. M. Chiacchiera

  3. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    G. A. Pena, M. P. Monge, M. L. González Pereyra, A. M. Dalcero, C. A. R. Rosa, S. M. Chiacchiera & L. R. Cavaglieri

Authors
  1. G. A. Pena
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. P. Monge
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. M. L. González Pereyra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. A. M. Dalcero
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. C. A. R. Rosa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. S. M. Chiacchiera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. L. R. Cavaglieri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to G. A. Pena.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Pena, G.A., Monge, M.P., González Pereyra, M.L. et al. Gliotoxin production by Aspergillus fumigatus strains from animal environment. Micro-analytical sample treatment combined with a LC-MS/MS method for gliotoxin determination. Mycotoxin Res 31, 145–150 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-015-0225-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-015-0225-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation