Why does mold make a bad toxin when eating certain sugars?
Insights into the Underlying Mechanism of Ochratoxin A Production in Aspergillus niger CBS 513.88 Using Different Carbon Sources
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
A fungus used in making food enzymes can make a harmful toxin when it eats certain sugars like table sugar or plant sugar. A special 'brake' protein stops the toxin from being made, but some sugars turn off this brake.
Surprising Findings
Arabinose, a less common plant sugar, induced the highest OTA production—far more than glucose or sucrose.
Most people assume table sugar (sucrose) or glucose would be the biggest triggers, but arabinose—a sugar found in plant cell walls—was by far the strongest inducer.
Practical Takeaways
Food manufacturers should avoid using arabinose or high-sugar conditions when fermenting with A. niger to minimize OTA risk.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
A fungus used in making food enzymes can make a harmful toxin when it eats certain sugars like table sugar or plant sugar. A special 'brake' protein stops the toxin from being made, but some sugars turn off this brake.
Surprising Findings
Arabinose, a less common plant sugar, induced the highest OTA production—far more than glucose or sucrose.
Most people assume table sugar (sucrose) or glucose would be the biggest triggers, but arabinose—a sugar found in plant cell walls—was by far the strongest inducer.
Practical Takeaways
Food manufacturers should avoid using arabinose or high-sugar conditions when fermenting with A. niger to minimize OTA risk.
Publication
Journal
Toxins
Year
2022
Authors
Sha Wei, Chao Hu, Ping Nie, Huanchen Zhai, Shuaibing Zhang, Na Li, Yangyong Lv, Yuan-sen Hu
Related Content
Claims (6)
Some fungus used in making enzymes for industry can also make a harmful substance that might cause cancer in people.
When this type of fungus grows on sugars like sucrose or glucose, its natural defenses (which help it handle stress) get weaker compared to when it grows on a protein-based food like peptone.
In a certain mold used in industry, sugar sources like sucrose, glucose, and especially arabinose make it produce a toxin called ochratoxin A, but a protein-based nutrient called peptone stops the toxin from being made at all.
When this mold eats certain sugars like sucrose, glucose, or arabinose, it turns on genes that help make a toxin, and two of those genes become over three times more active than when it's eating something else.
In a type of mold called Aspergillus niger, turning off a specific gene (AnGal4) makes it produce a lot more of a toxin called ochratoxin A—especially when it's fed arabinose sugar.