Control of Aspergillus carbonarius in grape berries by Lactobacillus plantarum: A phenotypic and gene transcription study.

Control of Aspergillus carbonarius in grape berries by Lactobacillus plantarum: A phenotypic and gene transcription study. Int J Food Microbiol. 2018 Apr 03;275:56-65 Authors: Lappa IK, Mparampouti S, Lanza B, Panagou EZ Abstract The in vitro and in situ antifungal activity of Lactobacillus plantarum against the ochratoxigenic fungus Aspergillus carbonarius was investigated in this study. Four different fungal isolates from grape berries were co-cultured with four different strains of L. plantarum on Malt Extract Agar (MEA) plates at 30 °C. Bacterial strains inhibited fungal growth up to 88% and significantly reduced toxin production up to 100%. In addition, L. plantarum was evaluated as biocontrol agent against A. carbonarius growth and OTA production on table grapes. Temporal studies of bacterial antagonism were performed with two different grape cultivars. Artificially wounded and unwounded berries were pre-treated with 108 CFU/mL bacteria and inoculated with 106 spores/mL of A. carbonarius ochratoxigenic isolates. Biocontrol agents displayed high rate of colonization on grapes during 5 days of incubation at 30 °C. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) also determined the presence of microorganisms on grape surface. Bacterial strains were effective in controlling fungal infection reaching up to 71% inhibition rates. However the presence of wounds on grape skin facilitated infection of berries by A. carbonarius, since unwo...
Source: International Journal of Food Microbiology - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: Int J Food Microbiol Source Type: research