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Elucidation of veA-dependent genes associated with aflatoxin and sclerotial production in Aspergillus flavus by functional genomics

  • Genomics and Proteomics
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Abstract

The aflatoxin-producing fungi, Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, form structures called sclerotia that allow for survival under adverse conditions. Deletion of the veA gene in A. flavus and A. parasiticus blocks production of aflatoxin as well as sclerotial formation. We used microarray technology to identify genes differentially expressed in wild-type veA and veA mutant strains that could be involved in aflatoxin production and sclerotial development in A. flavus. The DNA microarray analysis revealed 684 genes whose expression changed significantly over time; 136 of these were differentially expressed between the two strains including 27 genes that demonstrated a significant difference in expression both between strains and over time. A group of 115 genes showed greater expression in the wild-type than in the veA mutant strain. We identified a subgroup of veA-dependent genes that exhibited time-dependent expression profiles similar to those of known aflatoxin biosynthetic genes or that were candidates for involvement in sclerotial production in the wild type.

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Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank Dr. Jeffery Wilkinson for his useful suggestions in the data analysis. This work has been financed in part by Northern Illinois University. JWC thanks Jolie Bonano for her technical assistance in isolating fungal RNA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Southern Regional Research Center,Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, New Orleans, LA, USA

    J. W. Cary, P. Harris-Coward, J. Yu, D. Bhatnagar & T. E. Cleveland

  2. Center for Integrated Fungal Research, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    G. R. OBrian & G. A. Payne

  3. Department of Genetics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    D. M. Nielsen

  4. The Institute for Genomic Research, Rockville, MD, USA

    W. Nierman

  5. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA

    W. Nierman

  6. Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, De Kalb, IL, 60115, USA

    A. M. Calvo

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  1. J. W. Cary
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  2. G. R. OBrian
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  3. D. M. Nielsen
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  4. W. Nierman
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  5. P. Harris-Coward
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  6. J. Yu
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  7. D. Bhatnagar
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  8. T. E. Cleveland
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  9. G. A. Payne
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  10. A. M. Calvo
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Correspondence to A. M. Calvo.

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Cary, J.W., OBrian, G.R., Nielsen, D.M. et al. Elucidation of veA-dependent genes associated with aflatoxin and sclerotial production in Aspergillus flavus by functional genomics. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 76, 1107–1118 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-007-1081-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-007-1081-y

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