Time course of virus-like particles (VLPs) double-stranded rna accumulation in toxigenic and non-toxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus

Two strains of Aspergillus flavus, non-toxigenic NRRL 6550 and toxigenic NRRL 5940, were studied over a period of 44 days, in order to detect the presence of virus-like particles (VLPs) by means of electron microscopy (EM) and nucleic acids electrophoresis. Only the toxigenic strain contained VLPs, presenting three-segmented dsRNA. An increase in VLPs number was observed during the exponential phase of fungal growth, up to day 12 of culture; after this, higher levels of aflatoxin production in toxigenic NRRL 5940 mycelia occurred in parallel with decreased VLPs replication.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Silva,Valéria N., Durigon,Edison Luiz, Pires,Maria de Fátima Costa, Lourenço,Alexandre, Faria,Maria Jacinta de, Corrêa,Benedito
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia 2001
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1517-83822001000100013
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Two strains of Aspergillus flavus, non-toxigenic NRRL 6550 and toxigenic NRRL 5940, were studied over a period of 44 days, in order to detect the presence of virus-like particles (VLPs) by means of electron microscopy (EM) and nucleic acids electrophoresis. Only the toxigenic strain contained VLPs, presenting three-segmented dsRNA. An increase in VLPs number was observed during the exponential phase of fungal growth, up to day 12 of culture; after this, higher levels of aflatoxin production in toxigenic NRRL 5940 mycelia occurred in parallel with decreased VLPs replication.