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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2005, p. 1865-1869, Vol. 71, No. 4
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/AEM.71.4.1865-1869.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Department of Microbiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden
Received 1 July 2004/ Accepted 2 November 2004
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Pichia anomala (formerly Hansenula anomala [16]) inhibits the growth of a variety of molds, e.g., Botrytis cinerea, Aspergillus candidus, Penicillium roqueforti, and other plant-pathogenic or wood decay fungi, in environments as diverse as stored apple, grapevine plants, grain in airtight storage, and wood (for a review, see reference 20). P. anomala strain J121 can reduce the growth of P. roqueforti in vitro, in high-moisture cereal grain in a test-tube version of a malfunctioning storage system, and in 0.21-m3 pilot scale silos for airtight storage of 160-kg batches of moist grain (3, 7, 22-24). Airtight storage of cereal grain is an energy-saving alternative to hot-air drying. This type of storage is particularly important for regions of the world where cereal grain is harvested at moisture contents that allow the rapid growth of spoilage molds.
Several possible modes of action for biocontrol by yeasts have been suggested, such as competition for space and nutrients, production of cell wall-degrading enzymes, killer toxins, antibiotic metabolites, mycoparasitism, and stimulation of host defense responses (13, 20). For P. anomala the production of cell wall lytic enzymes and killer toxins has been suggested to be responsible for antifungal activity (15, 29). Other potential antifungal mechanisms include competition for nutrients, oxygen, and space; ethanol production (20); and formation of ethyl acetate (26), a volatile with antifungal activity (27). Identification of the mode of action of a biocontrol organism is important both for regulatory approval and for optimizing the biocontrol system. The objective of this study was to identify the mode of action of P. anomala J121 responsible for the inhibition of mold growth in airtight grain storage silos.
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Cultivation in minisilos.
Minisilos were prepared as previously described (22) with some modifications. Commercially available heat-dried nonsterilized wheat (Kosack, 10% moisture) was moistened alternatively with water, YPD medium, 2 g of maltose solution liter1 of rehydrating water, YNB medium (yeast nitrogen base, 6.67 g liter1) (Difco Laboratories, Detroit, Mich.), or glucose solutions (10, 20, 40, or 60 g liter1 of rehydrating water) to a water activity (aw) of approximately of 0.96 (
25% moisture). Since the wheat was not sterilized before the experiment, we tested the mold and yeast count and found it to be below the detection limit (<102 CFU g1). The wheat was stored at 2°C for 72 h to allow the water content to equilibrate. The moist wheat was inoculated with 104 spores of P. roqueforti g1 of grain and 105 CFU of P. anomala J121 g1 of grain. Spores and yeast cells were applied as drops onto the grain and mixed by shaking to obtain an even distribution. The inoculated grain was poured into 27-ml test tubes that were sealed with a rubber membrane and perforated with a needle to simulate the air leakage of a full-scale silo. Minisilos inoculated only with mold or yeast were used as controls. The minisilos were incubated at 25°C for 7 days. At least three minisilos were used for every measurement.
Fungal growth determination.
The growth of yeast and mold was measured as CFU per gram by using selective growth plates (3). Quantification of mold growth is not as straightforward as that of yeast, but there was a significant correlation between mold CFU and hyphal lengths in previous biocontrol experiments with P. anomala and P. roqueforti (3). The statistical significance of treatment differences was evaluated with a Student's t test.
Determination of ethyl acetate.
Ethyl acetate was extracted from the grain by shaking the total minisilo content with 5 ml of 99% decane (Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.) for 5 min (26). Although this extraction method does not differentiate between intracellular and extracellular ethyl acetate, it reflects volatile changes in the atmosphere of the minisilo as ethyl acetate is highly volatile. One milliliter of the extract was filtered through a 0.45-µm-pore-size Acrodisc syringe filter (Gelman Laboratory, Ann Arbor, Mich.) and 1 µl was injected into a Hewlett Packard gas chromatograph with a flame ionization detector (250°C; Cheshire, United Kingdom) and a capillary column (HP19091S-833; 250 µm by 30.0 m). The carrier gas was H2 at a flow rate of 40 ml min1. The column temperature was programmed to increase from 60 to 250°C at a rate of 20°C min1 and was finally held for 2 min at 250°C. Ethyl acetate was identified and quantified by comparison with an external standard.
Consumption of glucose and production of metabolites.
Concentrations of glucose and ethanol in grain extracts were measured at appropriate times (see Results). The compounds were extracted by shaking the contents of each minisilo with 5 ml of distilled water. Samples (10-µl) were analyzed by high-pressure liquid chromatography (Agilent Technologies, Waldbronn, Germany) by using a Hamilton (Hägersten, Sweden) HC-75 column for separation. Analysis was performed at 60°C with 5 mM H2SO4 at a flow rate of 0.6 ml min1 as the mobile phase. The eluate was monitored with an Agilent 1100 refractive index detector. The metabolites were identified and quantified by comparison with chromatograms from authentic reference compounds (glucose [Oxoid] and ethanol [Primalco Oy, Finland]).
Antimold activity of pure ethyl acetate and ethanol.
To determine if there is a synergistic antimold effect due to ethanol and ethyl acetate, P. roqueforti was grown on agar containing ethanol in a closed environment with vaporized ethyl acetate. A glass cup attached to a microscope slide was placed on the bottom of a plastic petri dish, and 0.6 ml of ethyl acetate (99.8%; Merck) was added to the glass cup. The amount of ethyl acetate in the in vitro assay was chosen after preliminary experiments since it is not possible to directly compare headspace concentrations in the minisilos with the plate assay. Water was used as the negative control. Spores of P. roqueforti were inoculated in the center of a malt extract agar plate, with or without 1g of ethanol liter1 of culture medium. The plate was placed facing down on the petri dish with the ethyl acetate-containing glass slide. The ethanol concentration represents an intermediate concentration detected in the grain (approximately 400 µg/g of grain). To reduce ethyl acetate evaporation, the plates were wrapped with three layers of parafilm. After 7 days of incubation at 25°C, the mycelial dry weight of the Penicillium colony was measured. The colony was placed in distilled water and heated in a microwave oven until the agar melted. The mold colony was then washed in distilled water, placed on a preweighed filter, and dried at 80°C for 24 h. All treatments were done with three replicates.
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Glucose effects on the growth dynamics of P. anomala J121 and P. roqueforti J5 in minisilos were monitored for the 7 days following inoculation. For the first 2 days, the number of mold CFU per gram decreased
10-fold in all treatments (Fig. 1). P. roqueforti growth was observed in treatments without inoculated yeast beginning on day 3, and this growth continued until day 7, reaching a final level of 1.6 x 105± 1.0 x 105 CFU g1 of grain. Final P. roqueforti CFU levels were not influenced by glucose addition when cultivated without yeasts (Fig. 1). In treatments that contained P. anomala but no additional glucose, weak mold growth was observed beginning on day 4 and continued until the end of cultivation, yielding a final value of 1.1 x 103± 0.1 x 103 CFU g1 of grain. In contrast, no significant increase in mold CFU was observed, when P. anomala and glucose (10 g liter1) were added to the cultures. Final mold CFU values were significantly different between yeast treatments with or without a glucose supplement of 10 g liter1 of rehydrating water (P < 0.05) (Fig. 1). Higher sugar amendments (20, 40, an 60 g liter1 of grain moistening solution) resulted in the same inhibition of mold growth (P < 0.05; data not shown). Final yeast CFU levels were not significantly affected by glucose addition either in the presence or in the absence of mold (Fig. 1).
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FIG. 1. Effects of glucose addition (10 g glucose liter1 of moistening water) and yeast-mold cocultivation on the growth of P. anomala J121 and P. roqueforti J5 in a minisilo system. , yeast CFU in yeast control without glucose addition; , yeast CFU in yeast control with glucose addition; , yeast CFU in yeast-mold cocultivation without glucose addition; , yeast CFU in yeast-mold cocultivation with glucose addition; , mold CFU in mold control without glucose addition; , mold CFU in mold control with glucose addition; , mold CFU in yeast-mold cocultivation without glucose addition; , mold CFU in yeast-mold cocultivation with glucose addition. Values are the means of three experiments ± standard deviations. Similar results were observed at all glucose concentrations (10, 20, 40, and 60 g liter1).
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FIG. 2. Glucose concentration in minisilos inoculated with P. anomala and P. roqueforti (A) or with only P. roqueforti (B). , no glucose addition; , 10 g of glucose liter1 of grain moistening water; , 20 g of glucose liter1; , 40 g of glucose liter1; *, 60 g of glucose liter1. Values are the means of three experiments ± standard deviations.
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FIG. 3. Ethanol concentration in water extracts from grain minisilos after 7 days of incubation with different glucose supplements and fungal inocula. , P. anomala without P. roqueforti inoculation; , P. anomala and P. roqueforti cocultivation; , P. roqueforti control without yeast inoculation. Values are the means of three experiments ± standard deviations.
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FIG. 4. Ethyl acetate concentrations in decane extracts from P. anomala-inoculated grain minisilos with different glucose amendments after 7 days of incubation. , P. anomala without P. roqueforti inoculation; , P. anomala and P. roqueforti cocultivation. Values are the means of three experiments ± standard deviations. No ethyl acetate was detected from treatments without P. anomala; i.e., P. roqueforti did not produce ethyl acetate even at high levels of glucose supplementation.
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Surprisingly, the addition of glucose, maltose, or complex sugar-rich media increased the biocontrol effect. Thus, competition for a carbon source or for an energy source is likely not the major mechanism responsible for the antifungal activity. Exo-ß-1,3-glucanase, a cell wall lytic enzyme, is glucose repressible in other strains of P. anomala (14). This enzyme is involved in the inhibition of gray mold by P. anomala on apple but would be repressed by the glucose added to our system. The addition of glucose without inoculation of P. anomala did not alter the growth of the mold, which rules out possible inhibitory actions by the glucose itself or by glucose stimulation of the indigenous microorganisms. Since the final yeast numbers (CFU) were not affected by the addition of glucose, spatial crowding by the yeast presumably is not occurring as a result of sugar addition.
Our results strongly suggest that the enhanced antifungal effect may be due to the products of sugar metabolism. Possible candidate products are ethyl acetate, ethanol, acetate, arabitol, glycerol, or various combinations of these products (9). Ethanol has well-known antifungal effects (19, 20, 25). Ethanol concentration in the minisilos increased only marginally following the addition of the glucose solution at a concentration of 10 g l1 of rehydrating water, even though the full inhibitory effect of the glucose addition on mold growth could be observed at this sugar concentration. Furthermore, in minisilos supplemented with 10 g of glucose liter1 and inoculated with P. roqueforti alone, as much ethanol was produced as in the control treatment with P. anomala alone. If ethanol alone were the critical inhibitory component, then Saccharomyces cerevisiae would be the best yeast for the biocontrol of grain molds, since this yeast is an efficient ethanol producer and is particularly tolerant of high ethanol concentrations (25). However, S. cerevisiae has no known biocontrol activity in this minisilo system (23).
Ethyl acetate could result in the enhanced biocontrol activity that follows glucose addition, and this ester demonstrated considerable antifungal activity in our plate assays. We have previously shown a connection between the biocontrol activity and ethyl acetate production in a haploid P. anomala strain (11). In the grain minisilos ethyl acetate concentrations were already significantly enhanced after the grain was moistened with water containing 10 g of glucose l1. The volatile nature of ethyl acetate would enable it to spread easily in the nonhomogeneous environment of the grain silo. Ethyl acetate and ethanol also might have synergistic antifungal effects in grain silos, similar to the effect observed in our agar plate experiments.
Even without glucose supplementation, i.e., at substantially lower ethyl acetate levels, the growth of P. anomala reduced the number of mold CFU per gram by about 100-fold relative to growth within silos without yeasts. Thus, in addition to ethyl acetate and perhaps ethanol production, other factors may be involved in the biocontrol activity of P. anomala on cereal grain, as is typical of several biocontrol systems (13). In airtight grain storage systems these additional factors might include competition for O2, inhibitory levels of CO2, and possibly production of antifungal compounds, e.g., killer toxins (10).
The positive effect of the addition of sugar on the biocontrol activity of P. anomala could provide an opportunity to increase the performance of this organism in industrial applications. Sugars can improve the viability of freeze-dried cultures that are important components of the formulation of biocontrol agents (1, 5). Thus, sugar amendments to a potentially commercialized formulation could have a double effect by increasing both the viability and the biocontrol performance of P. anomala.
This work was supported financially by the project BIO POSTHARVEST (QoL-PL1999-1065) funded by the European Union and by the Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (MISTRA).
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