Ecology, Development and Gene Regulation in Aspergillus flavus
Gary A. Payne and Jiujiang Yu
from: Aspergillus: Molecular Biology and Genomics (Edited by: Masayuki Machida and Katsuya Gomi). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2010)
Abstract
Aspergillus flavus is one of the most widely known species of Aspergillus . It was described as a species in 1809 and first reported as a plant pathogen in 1920. More recently, A. flavus has emerged as an important opportunistic pathogen and is now recognized as the second leading cause of aspergillosis in humans. A. flavus is known best for its production of aflatoxin, one of the most potent naturally occurring compounds. This discovery launched the modern era of mycotoxicology, and lead to aflatoxin being one of the best characterized fungal secondary metabolites. Studies in the major aflatoxin producing species, A. flavus and A. parasiticus, and in A. nidulans, which produces the aflatoxin pathway intermediate sterigmatocystin, have revealed an elegant biosynthetic pathway and a complex network of regulatory controls. In this chapter we review the ecology, pathogenicity, and economic importance of A. flavus, and regulatory mechanisms that control its development and mycotoxin formation read more ...
