Open AccessSynthetic antimicrobial agents inhibit aflatoxin production
Author(s) -
Jing Li,
Qing-Qing Zhi,
Jie Zhang,
Xiaoyu Yuan,
Lihong Jia,
Yao Wan,
Qiuyun Liu,
Jianrong Shi,
ZhuMei He
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
brazilian journal of microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1678-4405
pISSN - 1517-8382
DOI - 10.1007/s42770-021-00423-4
Subject(s) - aflatoxin , antimicrobial , aspergillus flavus , bacteria , microbiology and biotechnology , membrane permeability , intracellular , chemistry , biology , toxin , antimicrobial peptides , biochemistry , food science , membrane , genetics
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are biologically active molecules that can eradicate bacteria by destroying the bacterial membrane structure, causing the bacteria to rupture. However, little is known about the extent and effect of AMPs on filamentous fungi. In this study, we synthesized small molecular polypeptides by an inexpensive heat conjugation approach and examined their effects on the growth of Aspergillus flavus and its secondary metabolism. The antimicrobial agents significantly inhibited aflatoxin production, conidiation, and sclerotia formation in A. flavus. Furthermore, we found that the expression of aflatoxin structural genes was significantly inhibited, and the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level was reduced. Additionally, the antimicrobial agents can change membrane permeability. Overall, our results demonstrated that antimicrobial agents, safe to mammalian cells, have an obvious impact on aflatoxin production, which indicated that antimicrobial agents may be adopted as a new generation of potential agents for controlling aflatoxin contamination.