PbsB Regulates Morphogenesis, Aflatoxin B1 Biosynthesis, and Pathogenicity of Aspergillus flavus

The sensor protein AaSho1 regulates infection structures differentiation, osmotic stress tolerance and virulence via MAPK module AaSte11-AaPbs2-AaHog1 in Alternaria alternata

The high-osmolarity-sensitive protein Sho1 functions as a key membrane receptor in phytopathogenic fungi, which can sense and respond to external stimuli or stresses, and synergistically regulate diverse fungal biological processes through cellular signaling pathways. In this study, we investigated the biological functions of AaSho1 in Alternaria alternata, the causal agent of pear black spot. Targeted gene deletion revealed that AaSho1 is essential for infection structure differentiation, response to external stresses and synthesis of secondary metabolites. Compared to the wild-type (WT), the ∆AaSho1 mutant strain showed no significant difference in colony growth, morphology, conidial production and biomass accumulation. However, the mutant strain exhibited significantly reduced levels of melanin production, cellulase (CL) and ploygalacturonase (PG) activities, virulence, resistance to various exogenous stresses. Moreover, the appressorium and infection hyphae formation rates of the ∆AaSho1 mutant strain were significantly inhibited. RNA-Seq results showed that there were four branches including pheromone, cell wall stress, high osmolarity and starvation in the Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) cascade pathway. Furthermore, yeast two-hybrid experiments showed that AaSho1 activates the MAPK pathway via AaSte11-AaPbs2-AaHog1. These results suggest that AaSho1 of A. alternata is essential for fungal development, pathogenesis and osmotic stress response by activating the MAPK cascade pathway via Sho1-Ste11-Pbs2-Hog1.

Transcriptional dynamics and regulatory function of milRNAs in Ascosphaera apis invading Apis mellifera larvae

In the present study, small RNA (sRNA) data from Ascosphaera apis were filtered from sRNA-seq datasets from the gut tissues of A. apis-infected Apis mellifera ligustica worker larvae, which were combined with the previously gained sRNA-seq data from A. apis spores to screen differentially expressed milRNAs (DEmilRNAs), followed by trend analysis and investigation of the DEmilRNAs in relation to significant trends. Additionally, the interactions between the DEmilRNAs and their target mRNAs were verified using a dual-luciferase reporter assay. In total, 974 A. apis milRNAs were identified. The first base of these milRNAs was biased toward U. The expression of six milRNAs was confirmed by stem-loop RT-PCR, and the sequences of milR-3245-y and milR-10285-y were validated using Sanger sequencing. These miRNAs grouped into four significant trends, with the target mRNAs of DEmilRNAs involving 42 GO terms and 120 KEGG pathways, such as the fungal-type cell wall and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Further investigation demonstrated that 299 DEmilRNAs (novel-m0011-3p, milR-10048-y, bantam-y, etc.) potentially targeted nine genes encoding secondary metabolite-associated enzymes, while 258 (milR-25-y, milR-14-y, milR-932-x, etc.) and 419 (milR-4561-y, milR-10125-y, let-7-x, etc.) DEmilRNAs putatively targeted virulence factor-encoded genes and nine genes involved in the MAPK signaling pathway, respectively. Additionally, the interaction between ADM-B and milR-6882-x, as well as between PKIA and milR-7009-x were verified. Together, these results not only offer a basis for clarifying the mechanisms underlying DEmilRNA-regulated pathogenesis of A. apis and a novel insight into the interaction between A. apis and honey bee larvae, but also provide candidate DEmilRNA-gene axis for further investigation.

The AwHog1 Transcription Factor Influences the Osmotic Stress Response, Mycelium Growth, OTA Production, and Pathogenicity in Aspergillus westerdijkiae fc-1

Aspergillus westerdijkiae, known as the major ochratoxin A (OTA) producer, usually occurs on agricultural crops, fruits, and dry-cured meats. Microorganisms produce OTA to adapt to the high osmotic pressure environment that is generated during food processing and storage. To investigate the relationship between OTA biosynthesis and the high osmolarity glycerol (HOG) pathway, the transcription factor AwHog1 gene in A. westerdijkiae was functionally characterised by means of a loss-of-function mutant. Our findings demonstrated that the growth and OTA production of a mutant lacking AwHog1 decreased significantly and was more sensitive to high osmotic media. The ΔAwHog1 mutant displayed a lower growth rate and a 73.16% reduction in OTA production in the wheat medium compared to the wild type. After three days of culture, the growth rate of the ΔAwHog1 mutant in medium with 60 g/L NaCl and 150 g/L glucose was slowed down 19.57% and 13.21%, respectively. Additionally, the expression of OTA biosynthesis genes was significantly reduced by the deletion of the AwHog1 gene. The infection ability of the ΔAwHog1 mutant was decreased, and the scab diameter of the pear was 6% smaller than that of the wild type. These data revealed that transcription factor AwHog1 plays a key role in the osmotic response, growth, OTA production, and pathogenicity in A. westerdijkiae.

Genomic and Phenotypic Trait Variation of the Opportunistic Human Pathogen Aspergillus flavus and Its Close Relatives

Fungal diseases affect millions of humans annually, yet fungal pathogens remain understudied. The mold Aspergillus flavus can cause both aspergillosis and fungal keratitis infections, but closely related species are not considered clinically relevant. To study the evolution of A. flavus pathogenicity, we examined genomic and phenotypic traits of two strains of A. flavus and three closely related species, Aspergillus arachidicola (two strains), Aspergillus parasiticus (two strains), and Aspergillus nomiae (one strain). We identified >3,000 orthologous proteins unique to A. flavus, including seven biosynthetic gene clusters present in A. flavus strains and absent in the three nonpathogens. We characterized secondary metabolite production for all seven strains under two clinically relevant conditions, temperature and salt concentration. Temperature impacted metabolite production in all species, whereas salinity did not affect production of any species. Strains of the same species produced different metabolites. Growth under stress conditions revealed additional heterogeneity within species. Using the invertebrate fungal disease model Galleria mellonella, we found virulence of strains of the same species varied widely; A. flavus strains were not more virulent than strains of the nonpathogens. In a murine model of fungal keratitis, we observed significantly lower disease severity and corneal thickness for A. arachidicola compared to other species at 48 h postinfection, but not at 72 h. Our work identifies variations in key phenotypic, chemical, and genomic attributes between A. flavus and its nonpathogenic relatives and reveals extensive strain heterogeneity in virulence that does not correspond to the currently established clinical relevance of these species. IMPORTANCE Aspergillus flavus is a filamentous fungus that causes opportunistic human infections, such as aspergillosis and fungal keratitis, but its close relatives are considered nonpathogenic. To begin understanding how this difference in pathogenicity evolved, we characterized variation in infection-relevant genomic, chemical, and phenotypic traits between strains of A. flavus and its relatives. We found extensive variation (or strain heterogeneity) within the pathogenic A. flavus as well as within its close relatives, suggesting that strain-level differences may play a major role in the ability of these fungi to cause disease. Surprisingly, we also found that the virulence of strains from species not considered to be pathogens was similar to that of A. flavus in both invertebrate and murine models of disease. These results contrast with previous studies on Aspergillus fumigatus, another major pathogen in the genus, for which significant differences in infection-relevant chemical and phenotypic traits are observed between closely related pathogenic and nonpathogenic species.

GTPase Rac Regulates Conidiation, AFB1 Production and Stress Response in Pathogenic Fungus Aspergillus flavus

As a member of the Rho family, Rac plays important roles in many species, including proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, DNA damage responses, metabolism, angiogenesis, and immunosuppression. In this study, by constructing Rac-deleted mutants in Aspergillus flavus, it was found that the deletion of Rac gene led to the decline of growth and development, conidia production, AFB1 toxin synthesis, and seed infection ability of A. flavus. The deletion of Rac gene also caused the disappearance of A. flavus sclerotium, indicating that Rac is required for sclerotium formation in A. flavus. The sensitivity of Rac-deficient strains responding to cell wall stress and osmotic pressure stress increased when compared to A.flavus WT. The Western blot result showed that mitogen-activated serine/threonine-protein kinase Slt2 and mitogen-activated protein kinase Hog1 proteins were no longer phosphorylated in Rac-deficient strains of A. flavus, showing that Rac may be used as a molecular switch to control the Slt2-MAPK cascade pathway and regulate the osmotic Hog-MAPK cascade pathway in A. flavus in response to external stress. Altogether, these results indicated that Rac was involved in regulating the growth and development, conidia formation and AFB1 synthesis, and response to cell wall stress and osmotic pressure stress in A. flavus.

New Insights of Transcriptional Regulator AflR in Aspergillus flavus Physiology

Aspergillus flavusaflR, a gene encoding a Zn(II)₂Cys₆ DNA-binding domain, is an important transcriptional regulator of the aflatoxin biosynthesis gene cluster. Our previous results of Gene ontology (GO) analysis for the binding sites of AflR in A. flavus suggest that AflR may play an integrative regulatory role. In this study the ΔaflR and overexpression (OE) strains based on the well-established double-crossover recombinational technique were constructed to investigate the integrative function of the aflR gene in A. flavus. The disruption of aflR severely affected the aflatoxin biosynthetic pathway, resulting in a significant decrease in aflatoxin production. The aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) of the ΔaflR strain was 180 ng/mL and aflatoxin B₂ (AFB₂) was 2.95 ng/mL on YES medium for 5 days, which was 1/1,000 of that produced by the wild-type strain (WT). In addition, the ΔaflR strain produced relatively sparse conidia and a very small number of sclerotia. On the seventh day, the sclerotia yield on each plate of the WT and OE strains exceeded 1,000, while the sclerotial formation of the ΔaflR strain was not detected until 14 days. However, the biosynthesis of cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) was not affected by aflR gene disruption. Transcriptomic analysis of the ΔaflR strain grown on potato dextrose agar (PDA) plates at 0 h, 24 h, and 72 h showed that expression of clustering genes involved in the biosynthesis of aflatoxin was significantly downregulated. Meanwhile, the ΔaflR strain compared with the WT strain showed significant expression differences in genes involved in spore germination, sclerotial development, and carbohydrate metabolism compared to the WT. The results demonstrated that the A. flavusaflR gene also played a positive role in the fungal growth and development in addition to aflatoxin biosynthesis.

IMPORTANCE Past studies of the A. flavusaflR gene and its orthologues in related Aspergillus species were solely focused on their roles in secondary metabolism. In this study, we used the ΔaflR and OE strains to demonstrate the role of aflR in growth and development of A. flavus. For the first time, we confirmed that the ΔaflR strain also was defective in production of conidia and sclerotia, asexual propagules of A. flavus. Our transcriptomic analysis further showed that genes involved in spore germination, sclerotial development, aflatoxin biosynssssthesis, and carbohydrate metabolism exhibited significant differences in the ΔaflR strain compared with the WT strain. Our study indicates that AflR not only plays an important role in regulating aflatoxin synthesis but also in playing a positive role in the conidial formation and sclerotial development in A. flavus. This study reveals the critical and positive role of the aflR gene in fungal growth and development, and provides a theoretical basis for the genetic studies of other aspergilli.

Quantitative Proteomic Analysis for High- and Low-Aflatoxin-Yield Aspergillus flavus Strains Isolated From Natural Environments

The molecular mechanisms underlying aflatoxin production have been well-studied in strains of the fungus Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus) under artificial conditions. However, aflatoxin biosynthesis has rarely been studied in A. flavus strains isolated from field conditions with different aflatoxin-producing ability. In the present study, tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with tandem-mass spectrometry analysis were used for proteomic quantification in natural isolates of high- and low-aflatoxin-yield A. flavus strains. Additionally, findings obtained using the TMT-labeling method were validated using the high-resolution multiple reaction monitoring (MRM-HR) method. In total, 4,363 proteins were quantified, among which 1,045 proteins were differentially expressed between the high- and low-aflatoxin-yield A. flavus strains. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the up-regulated proteins were significantly enriched in carbon-related metabolism and the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, whereas the down-regulated proteins were enriched in oxidative phosphorylation. Moreover, GST proteins were found to be significantly down-regulated in high-yield A. flavus strains; this result contradicted previous findings obtained from A. flavus strains grown under artificial conditions. In summary, our study provides novel insights into aflatoxin regulation in A. flavus under field conditions and could facilitate the development of various strategies for the effective control of aflatoxin contamination in food crops.

Updates on the Functions and Molecular Mechanisms of the Genes Involved in Aspergillus flavus Development and Biosynthesis of Aflatoxins

Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus) is a ubiquitous and opportunistic fungal pathogen that causes invasive and non-invasive aspergillosis in humans and animals. This fungus is also capable of infecting a large number of agriculture crops (e.g., peanuts, maze, cotton seeds, rice, etc.), causing economic losses and posing serious food-safety concerns when these crops are contaminated with aflatoxins, the most potent naturally occurring carcinogens. In particular, A. flavus and aflatoxins are intensely studied, and they continue to receive considerable attention due to their detrimental effects on humans, animals, and crops. Although several studies have been published focusing on the biosynthesis of the aforementioned secondary metabolites, some of the molecular mechanisms (e.g., posttranslational modifications, transcription factors, transcriptome, proteomics, metabolomics and transcriptome, etc.) involved in the fungal development and aflatoxin biosynthesis in A. flavus are still not fully understood. In this study, a review of the recently published studies on the function of the genes and the molecular mechanisms involved in development of A. flavus and the production of its secondary metabolites is presented. It is hoped that the information provided in this review will help readers to develop effective strategies to reduce A. flavus infection and aflatoxin production.

Current Practices for Reference Gene Selection in RT-qPCR of Aspergillus: Outlook and Recommendations for the Future

Aspergillus is a genus of filamentous fungi with vast geographic and ecological distributions. Species within this genus are clinically, agriculturally and biotechnologically relevant, leading to increasing interest in elucidating gene expression dynamics of key metabolic and physiological processes. Reverse-transcription quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) is a sensitive and specific method of quantifying gene expression. A crucial step for comparing RT-qPCR results between strains and experimental conditions is normalisation to experimentally validated reference gene(s). In this review, we provide a critical analysis of current reference gene selection and validation practices for RT-qPCR gene expression analyses of Aspergillus. Of 90 primary research articles obtained through our PubMed query, 17 experimentally validated the reference gene(s) used. Twenty reference genes were used across the 90 studies, with beta-tubulin being the most used reference gene, followed by actin, 18S rRNA and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Sixteen of the 90 studies used multiple reference genes for normalisation. Failing to experimentally validate the stability of reference genes can lead to conflicting results, as was the case for four studies. Overall, our review highlights the need to experimentally validate reference genes in RT-qPCR studies of Aspergillus.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Mycotoxin Production During Postharvest Decay and Their Influence on Tritrophic Host-Pathogen-Microbe Interactions

Mycotoxins are a prevalent problem for stored fruits, grains, and vegetables. Alternariol, aflatoxin, and patulin, produced by Alternaria spp., Aspergillus spp., and Penicillium spp., are the major mycotoxins that negatively affect human and animal health and reduce fruit and produce quality. Control strategies for these toxins are varied, but one method that is increasing in interest is through host microbiome manipulation, mirroring a biocontrol approach. While the majority of mycotoxins and other secondary metabolites (SM) produced by fungi impact host–fungal interactions, there is also an interplay between the various organisms within the host microbiome. In addition to SMs, these interactions involve compounds such as signaling molecules, plant defense and growth hormones, and metabolites produced by both the plants and microbial community. Therefore, studies to understand the impact of the various toxins impacting the beneficial and harmful microorganisms that reside within the microbiome is warranted, and could lead to identification of safe analogs for antimicrobial activity to reduce fruit decay. Additionally, exploring the composition of the microbial carposphere of host plants is likely to shed light on developing a microbial consortium to maintain quality during storage and abate mycotoxin contamination.

Ssu72 Regulates Fungal Development, Aflatoxin Biosynthesis and Pathogenicity in Aspergillus flavus

The RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription process is coordinated by the reversible phosphorylation of its largest subunit-carboxy terminal domain (CTD). Ssu72 is identified as a CTD phosphatase with specificity for phosphorylation of Ser5 and Ser7 and plays critical roles in regulation of transcription cycle in eukaryotes. However, the biofunction of Ssu72 is still unknown in Aspergillus flavus, which is a plant pathogenic fungus and produces one of the most toxic mycotoxins-aflatoxin. Here, we identified a putative phosphatase Ssu72 and investigated the function of Ssu72 in A. flavus. Deletion of ssu72 resulted in severe defects in vegetative growth, conidiation and sclerotia formation. Additionally, we found that phosphatase Ssu72 positively regulates aflatoxin production through regulating expression of aflatoxin biosynthesis cluster genes. Notably, seeds infection assays indicated that phosphatase Ssu72 is crucial for pathogenicity of A. flavus. Furthermore, the Δssu72 mutant exhibited more sensitivity to osmotic and oxidative stresses. Taken together, our study suggests that the putative phosphatase Ssu72 is involved in fungal development, aflatoxin production and pathogenicity in A. flavus, and may provide a novel strategy to prevent the contamination of this pathogenic fungus.

The membrane mucin Msb2 regulates aflatoxin biosynthesis and pathogenicity in fungus Aspergillus flavus

As a pathogenic fungus, Aspergillus flavus can produce carcinogenic aflatoxins (AFs), which poses a great threat to crops and animals. Msb2, the signalling mucin protein, is a part of mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway which contributes to a range of physiological processes. In this study, the roles of membrane mucin Msb2 were explored in A. flavus by the application of gene disruption. The deletion of msb2 gene (Δmsb2) caused defects in vegetative growth, sporulation and sclerotia formation when compared to WT and complement strain (Δmsb2^C) in A. flavus. Using thin‐layer chromatography (TLC) and high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, it was found that deletion of msb2 down‐regulated aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) synthesis and decreased the infection capacity of A. flavus. Consistently, Msb2 responds to cell wall stress and osmotic stress by positively regulating the phosphorylation of MAP kinase. Notably, Δmsb2 mutant exhibited cell wall defect, and it was more sensitive to inhibitor caspofungin when compared to WT and Δmsb2^C. Taking together, these results revealed that Msb2 plays key roles in morphological development process, stresses adaptation, secondary metabolism and pathogenicity in fungus A. flavus.

A Cell Wall Integrity-Related MAP Kinase Kinase Kinase AflBck1 Is Required for Growth and Virulence in Fungus Aspergillus flavus

Aspergillus flavus represents an important fungal pathogen, causing severe economic losses in crops. The mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase signaling pathway contributes to many physiological processes, but its precise role in A. flavus is not yet fully understood. In this study, we focused on the AflBck1 gene, which encodes a MAP kinase kinase kinase of the Slt2-MAPK pathway. Targeted deletion of AflBck1 led to a significant defect in growth and development, and a AflBck1-deleted mutant (∆AflBck1) showed higher sensitivity to cell-wall stress than wild type (WT). Importantly, we observed that ∆AflBck1 displayed an enhanced ability to produce aflatoxin, a potential carcinogenic mycotoxin. However, the pathogenicity of the ∆AflBck1 mutant was markedly reduced in peanut seeds. We also presented evidence that AflBck1 was genetically epistatic to AflMkk2 in the Slt2-MAPK pathway. Finally, we found that loss of the proline-rich region at the N terminus of AflBck1 affected the reproduction of A. flavus. Collectively, this study not only extended the understanding that the MAPK pathway regulated A. flavus pathogenicity but also provided a possible strategy to control A. flavus contamination.

Aflatoxin Biosynthesis and Genetic Regulation: A Review

The study of fungal species evolved radically with the development of molecular techniques and produced new evidence to understand specific fungal mechanisms such as the production of toxic secondary metabolites. Taking advantage of these technologies to improve food safety, the molecular study of toxinogenic species can help elucidate the mechanisms underlying toxin production and enable the development of new effective strategies to control fungal toxicity. Numerous studies have been made on genes involved in aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) production, one of the most hazardous carcinogenic toxins for humans and animals. The current review presents the roles of these different genes and their possible impact on AFB1 production. We focus on the toxinogenic strains Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, primary contaminants and major producers of AFB1 in crops. However, genetic reports on A. nidulans are also included because of the capacity of this fungus to produce sterigmatocystin, the penultimate stable metabolite during AFB1 production. The aim of this review is to provide a general overview of the AFB1 enzymatic biosynthesis pathway and its link with the genes belonging to the AFB1 cluster. It also aims to illustrate the role of global environmental factors on aflatoxin production and the recent data that demonstrate an interconnection between genes regulated by these environmental signals and aflatoxin biosynthetic pathway.

The Methyltransferase AflSet1 Is Involved in Fungal Morphogenesis, AFB1 Biosynthesis, and Virulence of Aspergillus flavus

The filament fungal pathogen, Aspergillus flavus, spreads worldwide and contaminates several important crops. Histone posttranslational modifications are deeply involved in fungal development and virulence, but the biological function of the histone methyltransferase AflSet1 in A. flavus is still unknown. In the study, Aflset1 deletion strain was constructed through homologous recombination, and it was found that AflSet1 up-regulates hyphae growth, and promotes conidiation by sporulation regulation genes: abaA and brlA. It was also found that AflSet1 involves in sclerotia formation and AFB1 biosynthesis via sclerotia related transcriptional factors and orthodox AFB1 synthesis pathway, respectively. Crop models revealed that AflSet1 plays critical roles in colonization and AFB1 production on crop kernels. Lipase activity analysis suggested that AflSet1 affects fungal virulence to crops via digestive enzymes. Stresses tests revealed that AflSet1 is deeply involved in fungal resistance against osmotic, oxidative and cell membrane stress. The preparation of N_SET, SET domain deletion mutants and H988K mutant revealed that both domains play critical roles in fungal development and AFB1 production, and that H988 is very important in executing biological functions on morphogenesis and AFB1 synthesis. Subcellular location analysis revealed that AflSet1 is stably accumulated in nuclei in both spore germination and hyphae growth stages, even under the stress of SDS. Through immunoblot analysis, it was found that AflSet1 methylates H3K4me2 and me3 as well as H3K9me2. This study provides a solid evidence to discover the biological functions of histone methyltransferase in pathogenic fungi.

Functional Analysis of Peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans Isomerase from Aspergillus flavus

Aspergillus flavus, a ubiquitous filamentous fungus found in soil, plants and other substrates has been reported not only as a pathogen for plants, but also a carcinogen producing fungus for human. Peptidyl-Prolyl Isomerase (PPIases) plays an important role in cell process such as protein secretion cell cycle control and RNA processing. However, the function of PPIase has not yet been identified in A. flavus. In this study, the PPIases gene from A. flavus named ppci1 was cloned into expression vector and the protein was expressed in prokaryotic expression system. Activity of recombinant ppci1 protein was particularly inhibited by FK506, CsA and rapamycin. 3D-Homology model of ppci1 has been constructed with the template, based on 59.7% amino acid similarity. The homologous recombination method was used to construct the single ppci1 gene deletion strain Δppci1. We found that, the ppci1 gene plays important roles in A. flavus growth, conidiation, and sclerotia formation, all of which showed reduction in Δppci1 and increased in conidiation compared with the wild-type and complementary strains in A. flavus. Furthermore, aflatoxin and peanut seeds infection assays indicated that ppci1 contributes to virulence of A. flavus. Furthermore, we evaluated the effect of PPIase inhibitors on A. flavus growth, whereby these were used to treat wild-type strains. We found that the growths were inhibited under every inhibitor. All, these results may provide valuable information for designing inhibitors in the controlling infections of A. flavus.

Osmotic-Adaptation Response of sakA/hogA Gene to Aflatoxin Biosynthesis, Morphology Development and Pathogenicity in Aspergillus flavus

Aspergillus flavus is one of the fungi from the big family of Aspergillus genus and it is capable of colonizing a large number of seed/crops and living organisms such as animals and human beings. SakA (also called hogA/hog1) is an integral part of the mitogen activated protein kinase signal of the high osmolarity glycerol pathway. In this study, the AfsakA gene was deleted (∆AfsakA) then complemented (∆AfsakA::AfsakA) using homologous recombination and the osmotic stress was induced by 1.2 mol/L D-sorbital and 1.2 mol/L sodium chloride. The result showed that ∆AfsakA mutant caused a significant influence on conidial formation compared to wild-type and ∆AfsakA::AfsakA strains. It was also found that AfsakA responds to both the osmotic stress and the cell wall stress. In the absence of osmotic stress, ∆AfsakA mutant produced more sclerotia in contrast to other strains, whereas all strains failed to generate sclerotia under osmotic stress. Furthermore, the deletion of AfsakA resulted in the increase of Aflatoxin B₁ production compared to other strains. The virulence assay on both maize kernel and peanut seeds showed that ∆AfsakA strain drastically produced more conidia and Aflatoxin B₁ than wild-type and complementary strains. AfSakA-mCherry was located to the cytoplasm in the absence of osmotic stress, while it translocated to the nucleus upon exposure to the osmotic stimuli. This study provides new insights on the development and evaluation of aflatoxin biosynthesis and also provides better understanding on how to prevent Aspergillus infections which would be considered the first step towards the prevention of the seeds damages caused by A. flavus.