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The influence of co‐cultivation on expression of the antifungal protein in Aspergillus giganteus
Author(s) -
Meyer Vera,
Stahl Ulf
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of basic microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.58
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1521-4028
pISSN - 0233-111X
DOI - 10.1002/jobm.200390007
Subject(s) - fusarium oxysporum , aspergillus niger , transcription (linguistics) , biology , antifungal , gene expression , fusarium , aspergillus , gene , microbiology and biotechnology , transcription factor , protein expression , reporter gene , biochemistry , aspergillus nidulans , botany , linguistics , philosophy , mutant
The afp gene of Aspergillus giganteus encodes a small, highly basic polypeptide with antifungal activity, named Antifungal Protein (AFP). The protein is secreted by the mould and inhibits the growth of various filamentous fungi. In this paper we report that co‐cultivation of A. giganteus with various microorganisms alters afp expression. It was found that co‐cultivation modulates afp expression on the level of transcription, using a reporter system based on the β ‐glucuronidase gene. The presence of Fusarium oxysporum triggered afp transcription whereas dual cultures of A. giganteus and A. niger resulted in suppression of afp transcription. Growth tests performed with several carbon and nitrogen sources, revealed that the influence of co‐cultivation is strongly dependent on the medium composition.