DOI: 10.20350/digitalcsic/17726
title: DATASET_Will climate change affect growth and ochratoxin A production of putative biocontrol knockout strains of Aspergillus carbonarius?

description: This dataset is made available under a CC-BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
description: The research explored the effects of abiotic factors associated with climate change (CC) on the growth and metabolite production of wild-type Aspergillus carbonarius ITEM 5010 and three knockout mutants: one knockout in the first gene of the ochratoxin A (OTA) biosynthesis pathway (ΔotaA) and two in the veA and laeA genes (the latter knockout generated in this work) encoding VELVET complex proteins, which regulate metabolism. Variables examined were temperature (30 °C vs 37 °C), water activity (0.98 vs 0.90), and CO₂ levels (400 ppm vs 1000 ppm). Growth, OTA production, and other metabolites were evaluated on grape-based medium. The results showed that abiotic factors significantly influenced fungal growth and mycotoxin production, with aw being the most critical parameter. At aw 0.90, no growth was observed. A temperature of 37 °C combined with 1000 ppm CO₂ resulted in higher OTA production, indicating a greater health risk in predicted CC scenarios. Mutants of global regulatory factors showed altered metabolite production, with elevated OTA levels at 37 °C. The ΔotaA knockout mutant consistently showed no OTA production, suggesting its viability as a biocontrol agent under CC conditions. However, while OTA increased, other secondary metabolites, such as pyranonigrin A and kojic acid, decreased with rising temperatures in all strains. The research highlights the influence of abiotic factors related to CC on A. carbonarius growth and metabolite production, underlining the threat of increased mycotoxin production. This reinforces the need for resilient biocontrol strategies. The ΔotaA mutant has been identified as a potential biocontrol agent, demonstrating resistance to future environmental stresses associated with CC.
description: Figure_1: Phenotypic characteristics of the wild-type strain of A. carbonarius ITEM 5010 and three laeA knockout mutants Figure_1A.txt Figure_1B.txt Figure_1C.txt Figure_1-README.txt .-- Figure_2: Lag phase of A. carbonarius ITEM 5010, DotaA, DveA and DlaeA knockout mutants at different temperature, water activity and CO2 levels Figure_2A.txt Figure_2B.txt Figure_2C.txt Figure_2D.txt Figure_2-README.txt .-- Figure_3: Impact of abiotic factors of climate change on the growth of different strains, expressed as Area Under the Curve Figure_3A.txt Figure_3B.txt Figure_3C.txt Figure_3D.txt Figure_3-README.txt .-- Figure_4:Effect of three climate change-related abiotic factors (temperature, water activity, and CO2 concentration) on ochratoxin A (OTA) produced by different strains Figure_4.txt Figure_4-README.txt .-- Figure_5: Effect of three climate change-related abiotic factors (temperature, water activity, and CO2 concentration) on ochratoxin A (OTA) produced by different strains Figure_5.txt Figure_5-README.txt .-- Figure_6: Effect of three climate change-related abiotic factors (temperature, water activity, and CO2 concentration) on pyranonigrin A and kojic acid produced by different strains. Figure_6A.txt Figure_6B.txt Figure_6-README.txt