Morphological and cultural characteristics, as well as biochemical properties, are the main criteria used in fungal taxonomy and in the standard description of fungi species. Sometimes, however, this criterion is difficult to apply due to fungal phenotypic variations. This is particularly true in the genus Penicillium. The aims of this work were to determine (GTG)5 microsatellite sequence in po...

The effects of four alkaloids on the biosynthesis of ochratoxin A (OTA), ochratoxin B (OTB) and citrinin were examined on four OTA-producing aspergilli: Aspergillus auricomus, A. sclerotiorum and two isolates of A. alliaceus. Piperine and piperlongumine, natural alkaloids of Piper longum, significantly inhibited OTA production at 0.001% (w/v) for all aspergilli examined. Piperine and piperlongu...

Fifteen citrinin derivatives (1-4, 6-16), including two unprecedented citrinin trimers tricitrinols A (3) and B (4), were isolated from Penicillium citrinum HGY1-5. The six-membered ring A system is essential for the cytotoxicity of active dimers (1, 2, and 5) and trimers (3 and 4). Tricitrinol B (4) showed extensive cytotoxicity in 17 tumor cells with comparable low-micromolar IC(50) values (1...

A compound active against sterol biosynthesis was isolated from the culture filtrate of the fungus Prthium ultimum IAM 6073 and identified as citrinin which had been isolated as an antibiotic.') The sequence of reactions by which cholesterol is formed from acetyl-CoA is one of the most complex biosynthetic pathways in eukaryotic cells. In every vertebrate species so far studied, potent activity...

The cAMP signal pathway controls various biological functions, including secondary metabolism of filamentous fungi. We found that exogenous cAMP represses the production of lovastatin, red pigments, and citrinin in Monascus. Interestingly, a mutant MK-1 with increased lovastatin and red pigments production was not influenced by cAMP on these productions, indicating that cAMP signaling might be ...

Citrinin (CTN) is a nephrotoxic mycotoxin produced by several fungal strains belonging to the genera Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Monascus. It contaminates various commodities of plant origin, cereals in particular, and is usually found together with another nephrotoxic mycotoxin, ochratoxin A (OTA). These two mycotoxins are believed to be involved in the aetiology of endemic nephropathy. In a...