Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a potent pentaketide nephrotoxin widely contaminating food and feed products (grains, legumes, coffee, dried fruits, meat derived products, beer and wine). Wine is reported to be the second major source of OTA intake after cereals. Aspergillus carbonarius, which belong to the Aspergillus section Nigri, has been identified as the major cause of OTA contamination in grape-berries. OTA contamination of grapes is strongly related to plant phenology, geographical area and meteorological conditions and varies from season to season. Indeed, climate represents the key-factor in the agro-ecosystem that influences fungal colonization and mycotoxin production in crops. Climate change (CC) is expected to have a profound effect on our landscape worldwide, and also to have an important impact on sustainable food production system. Based on existing information on climate change, it is estimated that the environment in which crops will be grown in the next 25-50 years may change markedly with atmospheric CO2 concentration expected to double or triple (from 400 to 800-1200 ppm) and temperature to increase (+2-5ºC). These projected changes in climate conditions are likely to have a detrimental effect on food safety, with mycotoxins representing one of the major hazards. With the present PhD project, we studied the impact of combined CC factors (i.e. increasing day/night temperature, water stress and elevated CO2 concentrations) on the ecophysiology, expression of OTA related genes and phenotypic OTA production in A. carbonarius strains. Such activities were carried out in vitro by using a grape-based medium and simulating climate conditions typical of Apulia region, which is an area in South Italy susceptible to OTA contamination. The results showed that the expected raise of day/night temperature may not be associated to an increase of OTA risk in the area studied. On the other hand, experiments with 2.5x higher CO2 concentrations resulted in an increasing risk of OTA contamination in the production chain, being grapes destined for wine production less resilient under climate change scenarios.
Aspergillus from grapes: ochratoxin A risk in relation to climate change scenarios
Giancarlo Perrone;
2021
Abstract
Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a potent pentaketide nephrotoxin widely contaminating food and feed products (grains, legumes, coffee, dried fruits, meat derived products, beer and wine). Wine is reported to be the second major source of OTA intake after cereals. Aspergillus carbonarius, which belong to the Aspergillus section Nigri, has been identified as the major cause of OTA contamination in grape-berries. OTA contamination of grapes is strongly related to plant phenology, geographical area and meteorological conditions and varies from season to season. Indeed, climate represents the key-factor in the agro-ecosystem that influences fungal colonization and mycotoxin production in crops. Climate change (CC) is expected to have a profound effect on our landscape worldwide, and also to have an important impact on sustainable food production system. Based on existing information on climate change, it is estimated that the environment in which crops will be grown in the next 25-50 years may change markedly with atmospheric CO2 concentration expected to double or triple (from 400 to 800-1200 ppm) and temperature to increase (+2-5ºC). These projected changes in climate conditions are likely to have a detrimental effect on food safety, with mycotoxins representing one of the major hazards. With the present PhD project, we studied the impact of combined CC factors (i.e. increasing day/night temperature, water stress and elevated CO2 concentrations) on the ecophysiology, expression of OTA related genes and phenotypic OTA production in A. carbonarius strains. Such activities were carried out in vitro by using a grape-based medium and simulating climate conditions typical of Apulia region, which is an area in South Italy susceptible to OTA contamination. The results showed that the expected raise of day/night temperature may not be associated to an increase of OTA risk in the area studied. On the other hand, experiments with 2.5x higher CO2 concentrations resulted in an increasing risk of OTA contamination in the production chain, being grapes destined for wine production less resilient under climate change scenarios.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
