PubAg

Constitutive expressions of fluorescent protein by Aspergillus var. niger and Aspergillus carbonarius to monitor fungal colonization in maize plants

Author:

Edwin Rene Palencia, Anthony Elbie Glenn, Dorothy Mae Hinton, Charles Wilson Bacon

Source:

Journal of Microbiological Methods 2013 v.94 no.3 pp. 381-389

ISSN:

0167-7012

Subject:

Aspergillus carbonarius, Aspergillus niger, Zea mays, conidia, corn, environmental factors, fungal diseases of plants, gene expression, genetic transformation, hyphae, leaves, microbial colonization, ochratoxin A, plant pathogenic fungi, proteins, reporter genes, roots, seedlings, stems

Abstract:

Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus carbonarius are two species in the Aspergillus section Nigri (black-spored aspergilli) frequently associated with peanut (Arachis hypogea), maize (Zeamays), (this prevented Zeamays from being indexed), and other plants as pathogens. These infections are symptomless and as such are major concerns since some black aspergilli produce important mycotoxins, ochratoxins A, and the fumonisins. To facilitate the study of the black aspergilli–maize interactions with maize during the early stages of infections, we developed a method that used the enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (eYFP) and themonomeric red fluorescent protein (mRFP1) to transform A. niger and A. carbonarius, respectively. The results were constitutive expressions of the fluorescent genes that were stable in the cytoplasms of hyphae and conidia under natural environmental conditions. The hyphal in planta distribution in 21-day-old seedlings of maize were similar wild type and transformants of A. niger and A. carbonarius. The in planta studies indicated that both wild type and transformants internally colonized leaf, stem and root tissues of maize seedlings, without any visible disease symptoms. Yellow and red fluorescent strains were capable of invading epidermal cells of maize roots intercellularly within the first 3 days after inoculation, but intracellular hyphal growth was more evident after 7 days of inoculation. We also tested the capacity of fluorescent transformants to produce ochratoxin A and the results with A. carbonarius showed that this transgenic strain produced similar concentrations of this secondary metabolite. This is the first report on the in planta expression of fluorescent proteins that should be useful to study the internal plant colonization patterns of two ochratoxigenic species in the Aspergillus section Nigri.

Agid:

58197

Handle:

10113/58197

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mimet.2013.07.016