ABSTRACT
CONTENTS 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 15
2.1.1 Ecology of Aspergillus fl avus ......................................................................................... 15 2.1.2 Aspergillus as a Plant Pathogen ..................................................................................... 16 2.1.3 Aspergillus as an Animal Pathogen ................................................................................ 17 2.1.4 Aspergillus oryzae as an Ecotype of Aspergillus fl avus ................................................. 17
2.2 Structural Genomics .................................................................................................................. 18 2.2.1 Sequencing and Annotation ........................................................................................... 18 2.2.2 Physical Structure .......................................................................................................... 18 2.2.3 Database ......................................................................................................................... 19
2.3 Comparative Genomics .............................................................................................................. 19 2.3.1 Physical Structure .......................................................................................................... 19 2.3.2 Unique Genes and Features ........................................................................................... 19 2.3.3 Population Analysis ....................................................................................................... 19
2.4 Functional Genomics ................................................................................................................. 20 2.4.1 Design of Affymetrix Arrays ......................................................................................... 20 2.4.2 Integrated Database for Functional Analysis ................................................................ 20
2.5 Summary and Prospects ............................................................................................................ 21 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................ 21 References ............................................................................................................................................ 21
Aspergillus fl avus is a competitive saprobe, a plant pathogen, and an animal pathogen; thus, its ecology encompasses all of the known trophic phases of the genus Aspergillus. In addition, A. fl avus has a rich profi le of secondary metabolites, including several mycotoxins. Known mycotoxins produced by A. fl avus include cyclopiazonic acid, aspertoxin, afl atrem, aspergillic acid, and afl atoxins.1 Afl atoxins, which are both toxic and carcinogenic, accumulate in food and feeds. Because of health concerns related to ingestion of afl atoxin, a large research community has developed with the focus of understanding the population biology, ecology, and secondary metabolism in this fungus. As a result, the population structure and ecology of A. fl avus is better described than for any other Aspergillus species and afl atoxin bio synthesis is one of the best-characterized pathways of secondary metabolism in fi lamentous fungi. Couple this with the recently available genome sequence and whole genome DNA microarrays, and
A. fl avus emerges as an appealing model organism to study the biology, ecology, and pathogenicity of the genus.
