Identification of Penicillium aurantiogriseum species with a method of polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism

PCR ITS-RFLP for Penicillium Species and Other Genera

Among numerous molecular methodologies developed for highly specific identification of filamentous fungi isolates, here we describe restriction digestion analysis of the ITS products as an easy method to identify isolates of filamentous fungi. This technique is a rapid and reliable method appropriate for routine identification of filamentous fungi. This can be used to screen large numbers of isolates from various environments in a short time. The use of different endonucleases allowed generating individual restriction profiles. The individual profiles obtained were combined into composite restriction patterns characteristic of a species. Eleven different genera can be differentiated and among them 41 different species.

Non-Botrytis grape-rotting fungi responsible for earthy and moldy off-flavors and mycotoxins

The grape microflora is complex and includes filamentous fungi, yeasts and bacteria with different physiological characteristics and effects on wine production. Most studies have focused on the wine microbiota, but a few studies have reported the ecology of grape microorganisms. Some of these organisms - such as non-Botrytis bunch rotting fungi, which greatly influence the safety or sensory quality of wine, due to the production of mycotoxins and off-flavors, respectively - are considered to be spoilage agents. We review here the diversity of filamentous fungi on grapes and the factors influencing their development, such as grape ripening stage, environmental factors (climate, rain and cultivation practices), grape variety and grape health status. We also discuss the pathways by which mycotoxins and off-flavors are produced, the control of the population, the metabolites responsible for wine spoilage and the methods for detecting and characterizing the microorganisms involved.

PCR ITS-RFLP: A useful method for identifying filamentous fungi isolates on grapes

Restriction digestion analysis of the ITS products was tested as an easy method to identify isolates of filamentous fungi on grapes. Endonucleases SduI, HinfI, MseI, HaeIII were used. Endonucleases BfmI, Cfr9I, Hpy188I, MaeII or PspGI were used as necessary to complete discrimination. The 43 species studied generated 42 different composite profiles. Only the species P. thomii and P. glabrum gave the same composite profile. 96.3% strains tested could be differentiated to the species level with only four enzymes. Hundred ninety nine strains of filamentous fungi were isolated from various vineyards in Burgundy and identified by this method. Penicillium (58.5%) was the genus the most frequently isolated and no strains of the genus Aspergillus was isolated. P. spinolusum was the most isolated species of Penicillium (22.70%). The species C. cladiosporioides, B. cinerea, E. nigrum, A. alternata, T. koningiopsis, P. diplodiella, C. herbarum, A. alternatum, T. cucumeris and F. oxysporum were also isolated. This technique is a rapid and reliable method appropriate for routine identification of filamentous fungi. This can be used to screen large numbers of isolates from various environments in a short time. This is the first exhaustive study of fungal diversity at species level in vineyard.

Internal amplification controls have not been employed in fungal PCR hence potential false negative results

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is subject to false negative results. Samples of fungi with the genes of interest (e.g. a disease or mycotoxin) may be categorized as negative and safe as a consequence. Fungi are eukaryotic organisms that are involved in many fields of human activity such as antibiotic, toxin and food production. Certain taxa are implicated in human, animal and plant diseases. However, fungi are difficult to identify and PCR techniques have been proposed increasingly for this purpose. Internal amplification controls (IACs) will ameliorate the situation and need to become mandatory. These are nucleic acids that posses a sequence which will provide a PCR product (i) using the same primers employed for the target gene, and (ii) that will not coincide on the gel with the product of the target gene. Only one group of workers employed an IAC, to respond to potential inhibition, which was reported in 1995 from this present assessment of numerous reports. Inhibitors in cultures need to be minimized, and secondary metabolites are an obvious source. The fields reviewed herein include medical mycology, mycotoxicology, environmental mycology and plant mycology. The conclusion is that previous reports are compromised because IACs have not been employed in fungal PCR; future research must include this control at an early stage.

Development of a PCR assay for the detection of animal tissues in ruminant feeds

The European Community ban on use of meat and bone meal in ruminant feed, as a consequence of the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Europe, has prompted a number of investigations about the possibility of detecting animal tissues in feedstuff. In this paper, a study on vertebrate primers, designed in the 16S rRNA gene of mitochondrial DNA, is described. These primers were able to amplify fragments that contained between 234 and 265 bp. The fragments were specific for bovine, porcine, goat, sheep, horse, rabbit, chicken, trout, and European pilchard and were confirmed by sequence analysis amplicons. The primers were used in a PCR assay applied to five samples of meat and blood meals of different species and subjected to severe rendering treatments (134.4 to 141.9 degrees C and 3.03 to 4.03 bar for 24 min). The presence of vertebrate tissues was detected in all samples. The assay proved to be rapid and sensitive (detection limit 0.0625%). It can be used as a routine method to detect animal-derived ingredients in animal feedstuff.