Publications by authors named "Ludwig Niessen"

Pseudogymnoascus destructans (= Geomyces destructans) is a psychrophilic filamentous fungus that causes White-Nose Disease (WND; the disease associated with White-Nose Syndrome, WNS) in hibernating bats. The disease has caused considerable reductions in bat populations in the USA and Canada since 2006. Identification and detection of the pathogen in pure cultures and environmental samples is routinely based on qPCR or PCR after DNA isolation and purification.

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is frequently isolated from damp building materials or improperly stored animal forage. Human and animal exposure to the secondary metabolites of this mold is linked to severe health effects. The mutually exclusive production of either satratoxins or atranones defines the chemotypes A and S.

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The fungal genus Tilletia includes a large number of plant pathogens of Poaceae. Only a few of those cause bunt of wheat, but these species can lead to significant yield losses in crop production worldwide. Due to quarantine regulations and specific disease control using appropriate seed treatments for the different disease agents, it is of high importance to distinguish Tilletia caries and Tilletia laevis as causal agents of common bunt accurately from Tilletia controversa, the causal agent of the dwarf bunt.

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Fusarium verticillioides is one of the major fumonisin producers. The ingestion of this mycotoxin represents a risk for both human and animal health. The development of F.

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Cytotoxic macrocyclic trichothecenes such as satratoxins are produced by chemotype S strains of Stachybotrys chartarum. Diseases such as stachybotryotoxicosis in animals and the sick building syndrome as a multifactorial disease complex in humans have been associated with this mold and its toxins. Less toxic non-chemotype S strains of S.

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Tilletia controversa causing dwarf bunt of wheat is a quarantine pathogen in several countries. Therefore, its specific detection is of great phytosanitary importance. Genomic regions routinely used for phylogenetic inferences lack suitable polymorphisms for the development of species-specific markers.

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Gushing describes the spontaneous excessive over-foaming of carbonated beverages leading to considerable economic losses and reputational damages to the beverage industry. Surface-active proteins produced by filamentous fungi are involved in the induction of gushing. In the current study, the role of Penicillium expansum in sparkling wine gushing was investigated.

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The yeast mannoprotein seripauperin 5 (PAU5) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a negative gushing biomarker in sparkling wine with a direct gushing-reducing effect. The knowledge about the influence of the yeast strain and the fermentation conditions on the PAU5 content in the final product could reduce the gushing potential of sparkling wines and avoid economic losses for sparkling wine producers. The potential of 30 different commercially used (sparkling) wine S.

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Penicillium expansum is the main cause of Blue Mold Decay, which is the economically most significant postharvest disease on fruits. It occurs especially on pomaceous fruits such as apples and pears but also on a wide range of other fruits such as grapes or strawberries. Besides its negative economic effects on the industry, the fungus is also of health concern as it produces patulin, a mycotoxin known to provoke harmful effects in humans.

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Filamentous fungal cell factories play a pivotal role in biotechnology and circular economy. Hyphal growth and macroscopic morphology are critical for product titers; however, these are difficult to control and predict. Usually pellets, which are dense networks of branched hyphae, are formed during industrial cultivations.

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Fumonisins are mycotoxins that contaminate maize and maize-based food products, and feed. They have been associated with nerve system disorders in horses, pulmonary edema in swine as well as neural tube defects and esophageal cancer in humans. The fum1 gene codes for a polyketide synthase involved in the biosynthesis of fumonisins.

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The original version of this paper was published with error. The supplementary materials originally provided were not captured during article production.

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The fungus Stachybotrys (S.) chartarum was isolated from culinary herbs, damp building materials, and improperly stored animal forage. Two distinct chemotypes of the fungus were described that produced either high-cytotoxic macrocyclic trichothecenes (S type) or low-cytotoxic atranones (A type).

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Members of the Fusarium fujikuroi species complex (FFSC) are commonly involved in devastating diseases of many economically important plants. They invade developing seeds and other plant tissues in the field causing significant annual losses. In addition, fungal spoilage can also affect human and animal health because some species in this group, especially F.

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The mycotoxin patulin is a toxic fungal secondary metabolite occurring in food worldwide. Methods for rapid, simple and specific detection of patulin-producing fungi in food and feed are therefore urgently needed. In the current study, a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay based on the isoepoxydon dehydrogenase (idh) gene of the patulin biosynthetic pathway was developed and optimized for the group-specific detection of patulin-producing Penicillium species.

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Filamentous fungi are widely used in the production of biotechnological compounds. Since their morphology is strongly linked to productivity, it is a key parameter in industrial biotechnology. However, identifying the morphological properties of filamentous fungi is challenging.

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Aflatoxins can be produced by 21 species within sections Flavi (16 species), Ochraceorosei (2), and Nidulantes (3) of the fungal genus Aspergillus. They pose risks to human and animal health due to high toxicity and carcinogenicity. Detecting aflatoxin producers can help to assess toxicological risks associated with contaminated commodities.

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The absence of the yeast protein seripauperin 5 (PAU5) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been suggested as a biomarker for the occurrence of gushing in sparkling wine as samples lacking PAU5 were found to be more susceptible to gushing. In this study, further characterization of PAU5 regarding its foam-stabilizing properties was performed to elucidate whether PAU5 has foam-stabilizing properties and therefore, to elucidate a direct influence on the gushing potential of sparkling wines. PAU5 was successfully purified from non-gushing sparkling wine using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC).

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Fungal infection of grapes with the plant pathogenic fungus Botrytis (B.) cinerea was shown to cause a degradation of proteins in the resulting wine. Moreover, it influences the foaming properties of the wine.

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Despite their low concentration, proteins can influence several key enological parameters such as foam stability or haze formation in (sparkling) wine. Most studies focus on white (sparkling) wine since the higher content of phenolic compounds in red wines impairs proteomic research. The aim of the study was the development of a method for the preparation of red (sparkling) wine proteins for proteomic analysis.

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Loop-mediated isothermal amplification is a rather novel method of enzymatic deoxyribonucleic acid amplification which can be applied for the diagnosis of viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Although firmly established in viral and bacterial diagnosis, the technology has only recently been applied to a noteworthy number of species in the filamentous fungi and yeasts. The current review gives an overview of the literature so far published on the topic by discussing the different groups of fungal organisms to which the method has been applied.

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Aflatoxins represent a serious risk for human and animal health. They are mainly produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus but also by Aspergillus nomius. Three species specific turbidimeter based real-time LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal amplification) assays were developed to quantify the three species individually in conidial solutions and to define contamination levels in samples of shelled Brazil nuts, maize, and peanuts.

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Hydrophobins are small secreted proteins ubiquitously found in filamentous fungi. Some hydrophobins were shown to have functions in fungal development, while others lack known function. Class II hydrophobins from Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium culmorum are characterized by formation of low stability aggregates and their solubility in organic solvents.

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