Patulin and secondary metabolite production by marine-derived Penicillium strains

Genus Penicillium represents an important fungal group regarding to its mycotoxin production. Secondary metabolomes of eight marine-derived strains belonging to subgenera Furcatum and Penicillium were investigated using dereplication by liquid chromatography (LC)–Diode Array Detector (DAD)–mass spectrometry (MS)/MS.

Each strain was grown on six different culture media to enhance the number of observable metabolites.Thirty-two secondary metabolites were detected in crude extracts with twenty first observations for studied species. Patulin, a major mycotoxin, was classically detected in extracts of Penicillium expansum, and was also isolated from Penicillium antarcticum cultures, whose secondary metabolome is still to be done.

These detections constituted the first descriptions of patulin in marine strains of Penicillium, highlighting the risk for shellfish and their consumers due to the presence of these fungi in shellfish farming areas.Patulin induced acute neurotoxicity on Diptera larvae, indicating the interest of this bioassay as an additional tool for detection of this major mycotoxin in crude extracts.