The mycotoxin aflatoxin is a secondary metabolite and potent human carcinogen. We investigated one mechanism that links stress response with coordinate activation of genes involved in aflatoxin biosynthesis in Aspergillus parasiticus. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated that AtfB, a basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factor, is a master co-regulator that binds promoters of...

In-vitro microbicidal activity of the methanol extract of Origanum majorana L. was tested against seven fungi (Fusarium solani, Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, A. parasiticus, Rhizopus oryzae, Rhizoctonia otyzae-sativae and Altemaria brassicicola) and six bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, B. megaterium, Escherichia coil, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus). The m...

Soil is a reservoir for Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, fungi that commonly colonize peanut seeds and produce carcinogenic aflatoxins. Densities of these fungi in soil vary greatly among fields and may influence the severity of peanut infection. This study examined the relationship between soil density of Aspergillus species and the incidence of peanut seed colonization under laboratory ...

The aim of this study was to determine the mycoflora of poultry feeds and evaluate the aflatoxin and ochratoxins producing ability of isolated Aspergillus species. One hundred and nineteen samples of commercially prepared and farm mixed feeds were collected during 20052007. The samples were inoculated on potato dextrose agar, Czapek dox solution agar, Czapek yeast autolysate agar and yeast extr...

The Aspergillus genus belongs to a filamentous fungal group characterized by wide dispersion in the environment. Some species are associated with diseases, especially in immunocompromised patients, while others are of economical importance due to aflatoxin production or biotechnological applications. Its species identification is nowadays performed by traditional techniques combined with molecu...

This study aimed to identify the constituents of the essential oil from Hyptis suaveolens (L.) leaves using a Gas Chromatograph - Mass Spectrometer and assess its inhibitory effect on some potentially pathogenic Aspergilli (A. flavus, A. parasiticus, A. ochraceus, A. fumigatus and A. niger). Eucaliptol (47.64 %) was the most abundant component in the oil, followed for gama-ellemene (8.15 %), be...

Polyclonal antibodies (PAb) were raised against an aflatoxigenic strain of Aspergillus parasiticus by using two different sources for antibody elicitation: (i) filtrate of a culture on which the fungus had been grown (ii) and two chimeric proteins, expressed in Escherichia coli as separate products, of the genes ver-1 and apa-2, which are involved in aflatoxin biosynthesis. The gene products we...

Peanut kernels (Tainan 9, a Spanish cultivar) inoculated with Aspergillus parasiticus, A. flavus, A. niger, or A. ochraceus as well as noninoculated kernels were incubated in a humidified environment (relative humidity, 100%) at 25(deg)C for 7 weeks. Internal fungal populations and changes in moisture and sucrose content and free amino acid composition of the kernels were determined periodicall...

Received 1 April 2004 Revised 16 June 2004 Accepted 24 June 2004 In the mycotoxigenic oilseed pathogens Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus and the model filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans, unsaturated fatty acids and their derivatives act as important developmental signals that affect asexual conidiospore, sexual ascospore and/or sclerotial development. To dissect the relations...