Autor(es):
Paterson, R. R. M.
; Venâncio, Armando
; Lima, Nelson
Data: 2005
Identificador Persistente: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/3559
Origem: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
Descrição
Species concepts within fungi are (a) subject to frequent revision and (b)
unusually protean. However, this allows novel schemes some scope to be
considered. The taxonomy of the penicillia is unstable particularly in the important
antibiotic and mycotoxin-producing subgenus Penicillium. Non-specialists in
particular encounter difficulty with assigning names to taxa. Name changes of
important fungi have occurred frequently and recently. There are difficulties
relating identifications to mycotoxin production. This is necessary for controlling
mycotoxin contamination in food, drink, homes, etc. Patulin is an important
mycotoxin produced by various fungi and has strict limits in the European Union
and elsewhere. Also, it is a useful model mycotoxin per se. The mycotoxin and/or
the isoepoxydon dehydrogenase (IDH) gene of the metabolic pathway have been
assessed in 318 strains predominately of subgenus Penicillium. These data were
used to classify the isolates, although the applied aspects of the scheme are
emphasised over the purely taxonomic. Of course, the issue of whether to apply a
dual nomenclature to different states of pleomorphic fungi is relevant. Subgenus
Penicillium contained most of the IDH and patulin positives. Many of species
contained positive and negative members, which demonstrates that identifications
based on morphology do not indicate patulin production. The species and varieties
in subgenus Penicillium which have been associated with patulin production can
be reduced to one name, viz. Penicillium Pen p+, where p is the abbreviation of
patulin. This basic concept has been extended to other mycotoxin producing fungi
within the subgenus using published data to indicate the utility of the scheme. The
classification will lead naturally to the number of taxa being reduced. In addition,
more meaningful results are obtained in terms of assessing the potential for
patulin production. The possibilities of direct analysis of environmental samples
are also discussed. The scheme could be used with advantage for other fungi.