Ten fungal isolates from coffee beans were morphologically identified as Aspergillus niger, A. ochraceus and A. carbonari-us (N = 5, 3, and 2, respectively). Only one isolate, morphologically identified as A. niger, was unable to produce ochratoxin A (OTA). This may be a new species in the Aspergillus section Nigri. OTA levels in all the other isolates were above the limit of detection (0.15 mg...

In recent years, a massive mortality event has killed millions of sea stars, of many different species, along the Pacific coast of North America. This disease event, known as 'sea star wasting disease' (SSWD), is linked to viral infection. In one affected sea star (Pisaster ochraceus), previous work had identified that the elongation factor 1-α locus (EF1A) harbored an intronic insertion allele...

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a naturally occurring fungal metabolite produced by some species of Aspergillus and Penicillium. OTA being nephrotoxic, carcinogenic, hepatotoxic and immunosuppressive imparts many human and animal health hazards. In this study OTA production was observed at different temperatures (5oC, 10oC, 20oC, 30oC and 40oC) in three substrates (corn, rice and wheat) by A. ochraceus a...

Forecasting the responses of populations and ecosystems to climate change requires that we understand both the direct effects of temperature on organism physiology and the indirect effects of temperature change on interactions such as predation and competition. The sea star Pisaster ochraceus is a keystone predator in the rocky intertidal zone with a broad geographic distribution along the west...

Ochratoxin A (OTA)-a toxin produced by Aspergillus carbonarius, Aspergillus ochraceus, and Penicillium verrucosum-is one of the most-abundant food-contaminating mycotoxins. To avoid the risk of OTA consumption for humans and animals, the rapid detection and quantitation of OTA level in different commodities are of great importance. In this work, an impedimetric immunosensor for ochratoxin A (OT...

A strain of Aspergillus ochraceus Wilhelm, isolated from poultry feed, produced both penicillic acid and ochratoxin A. Studies demonstrating the ability of this fungus to colonize poultry feed and produce these two mycotoxins under various temperatures and moistures indicated that the interaction was complex. The optimal temperature for conidial development did not vary with moisture, but accum...

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of the non-selective fungicides mancozeb, copper oxychloride, and sulfur on the growth and capability for producing ochratoxin A (OTA) of ochratoxigenic isolates of Aspergillus carbonarius and A. ochraceus in barley-based medium. Lag phases and growth rates were determined for each fungicide at different doses, at 15°C and 25°C and at 0.97 a(w)....

Gene conversion and positive selection are often proposed as mechanisms for the evolution of biological molecules. Changes in sequence similarity have been used as evidence for gene conversion (Crain et al., 1987). Evidence for the evolution of the actin gene family by gene conversion in the echinoderms, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus and Pisaster ochraceus, came from amino acid and DNA sequence...

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a secondary metabolite produced by filamentous fungi of the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium present in a wide variety of foodstuffs. The most relevant OTAproducing species are Penicillium verrucosum (P. verrucosum), Aspergillus ochraceus (A. ochraceus), A. niger and A. carbonarius due to their prevalence in foodstuffs (cereals, grapes, coffee, etc.) and the number of st...

Microbial transformations of racemic 7-methoxyflavanone using strains of the genus Aspergillus (A. niger KB, A. ochraceus 456) and the strain Penicillium chermesinum 113 were described. The strain A. niger KB catalysed carbonyl group reduction, leading to (±)-2,4-cis-7-methoxyflavan-4-ol. Biotransformation with the help of A. ochraceus 456 gave two products: (+)-2,4-trans-7-methoxyflavan-4-ol a...