INVESTIGADORES
PATRIARCA Andrea Rosana
artículos
Título:
Toxigenic Alternaria species from Argentinean blueberries
Autor/es:
GRECO, M.; PATRIARCA, A.; TERMINIELLO, L.; FERNÁNDEZ PINTO, V.; POSE, G.
Revista:
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD MICROBIOLOGY
Editorial:
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
Referencias:
Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2012 vol. 154 p. 187 - 191
ISSN:
0168-1605
Resumen:
Blueberries
are traditionally consumed in North America, some European countries
and Japan. In Argentina, the crop of blueberries is profitable because
the production starts in November, when the north hemisphere lacks of
fresh fruits. Fungal contaminants can grow in fresh fruits and produce
mycotoxins on these commodities. The aims of this work were to identify
the main genera of the mycobiota of blueberries grown in Argentina and
to determine the toxicogenic potential, pathogenicity and host specificity of the species isolated. The genus Alternaria was the main component of the blueberry mycobiota (95%); Phoma spp. (4%) and Penicillium spp. (1%) were isolated in minor proportion. According to their sporulation patterns, 127 Alternaria isolates belonged to the A. tenuissima species-group, 5 to the A. alternata species-group and 2 to the A. arborescens species-group. The last mentioned species-group was not isolated at 5ºC. The
61% of 134 isolates were toxicogenic in autoclaved rice; 97% of these
produced alternariol (AOH) in a range from 0.14 to 119.18 mg/kg, 95%
produced alternariol methylether (AME) in a range from 1.23 to 901.74
mg/kg and 65% produced tenuazonic acid (TA) in a range from 0.13 to
2778 mg/kg. Fifty two isolates co-produced the three mycotoxins.
According to the size of the lesion that they caused on blueberries,
the isolates were classified as slightly pathogenic, moderately
pathogenic and very pathogenic. No significant differences in
pathogenicity were found on different blueberry varieties.
In this work, high incidence and toxicogenic potential of the Alternaria isolates from blueberries was demonstrated. Thus, more studies must be done in order to evaluate the health risk posed by the presence of the Alternaria toxins in blueberries and in the manufactured by-products.