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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #348657
Title: Penicillium gravinicasei, a new species isolated from cave cheese in Apulia, Italy

Author
item ANELLI, P - National Research Council - Italy
item Peterson, Stephen
item HAIDUKOWSKI, M - National Research Council - Italy
item LOGRIECO, ANTONIO - National Research Council - Italy
item MORETTI, ANTONIO - National Research Council - Italy
item EPIFANI, FILOMENA - National Research Council - Italy
item SUSCA, ANTONELLA - National Research Council - Italy

Submitted to: International Journal of Food Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/8/2018
Publication Date: 10/3/2018
Citation: Anelli, P., Peterson, S.W., Haidukowski, M., Logrieco, A.F., Moretti, A., Epifani, F., Susca, A. 2018. Penicillium gravinicasei, a new species isolated from cave cheese in Apulia, Italy. International Journal of Food Microbiology. 282:66-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2018.06.006.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2018.06.006

Interpretive Summary: A mold from the surface of a cheese, aged in a cave in Gravinia di Puglia, Italy, was isolated and determined to be undescribed. We tested the ability of this mold to make mycotoxins and found that it did not form any common mycotoxins. The mold adds flavor to the cheese during the aging process. We described the species and its role in ripening cheese from caves in Gravinia di Puglia and compare it to other molds isolated from ripening cheeses. This information will be of interest to food technologists and academic mycologists.

Technical Abstract: Several species of the genus Penicillium were isolated during a survey of the mycobiota of Apulian cave cheeses ripened in a cave in Gravina di Puglia, Italy. A novel species, Penicillium gravinicasei, is described in Penicillium section Cinnamopurpurea. Its taxonomic novelty was determined using a polyphasic approach, combining phenotypic, molecular (ß-tubulin, calmodulin, ITS and DNA dependent RNA polymerase) DNA sequences and mycotoxin production data. The type strain of Penicillium gravinicasei is ITEM 17411 = NRRL 66733. Phylogenetic analyses of the RPB2 data showed that isolates of the novel species form a clade most closely related to Penicillium cinnamopurpureum and P. parvulum with high bootstrap support. The fungus did not produce ochratoxin A, citrinin, patulin, sterigmatocystin or aflatoxin B1 on PDA, MEA and YES. The novel species had a high growth rate on agar media supplemented with 5% NaCl, and could be distinguished from other section Cinnamopurpurea species by phenotypic and molecular characteristics.