Aspergillus flavus transcriptome under different temperature conditions

To better understand the effect of temperature on mycotoxin biosynthesis, RNA-Seq technology was used to profile the Aspergillus flavus transcriptome under different temperature conditions. This approachallowed us to quantify transcript abundance for over 80% of fungal genes including 1,153 genes that were differentially expressed at 30°C and 37°C. Wleven of the 55 secondary metabolite clusters were up-regulated at the lower temperature, including aflatoxin biosynthesis genes, which were among the most highly up-expressed genes. On average, transcript abundance for the 30 aflatoxin biosynthesis genes was 3,300 times greater at 30°C as compared to 37°C. The results are consistent with the view that high temperature negatively affects aflatoxin production by turning down transcription of the two key transcriptional regulators, aflR and aflS. Subtle changes in the expression levels of aflS to aflR appear to control transcription activation of the aflatoxin cluster. Overall design: 2 samples examined: from the fungus grown at 30°C and 37°C