Temperature and water activity influence on simultaneous production of AAL toxins by Alternaria arborescens on tomato medium

VAQUERA, SANDRA; FERNÁNDEZ PINTO, VIRGINIA; CABRERA, GABRIELA; CABRERA, GABRIELA; PATRIARCA, ANDREA; PATRIARCA, ANDREA; VAQUERA, SANDRA; FERNÁNDEZ PINTO, VIRGINIA

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PLANT PATHOLOGY

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2017 vol. 148 p. 1 - 7

0929-1873

Alternaria spp. have been reported to be the most frequent phytopathogenic fungiinvading tomatoes. Certain species are capable of producing several mycotoxins ininfected plants and in agricultural commodities. AAL toxins are produced by Alternariaarborescens, which is the causal agent of tomato stem canker, and one of the speciesinvolved in the tomato black mold. AAL toxins include five congeners, TA, TB, TC, TDand TE, structurally similar. The objective of this study was to determine the effect ofwater activity (aw, 0.995, and 0.950) and temperature (6, 15, 20, 25 and 30°C) onsimultaneous AAL toxins production by Alternaria arborescens. The maximumaccumulation of AAL toxins occurred at 0.995 aw after 40 days of incubation at 30°C.None of the toxins was detected at temperatures below 30°C at any aw during thewhole incubation period. The results obtained here could be extrapolated to evaluatethe risk of AAl toxins accumulation in tomato fruits and tomato products.