Patulin Degradation by the Biocontrol Yeast Sporobolomyces sp. Is an Inducible Process

Patulin is a mycotoxin produced by and a common contaminant of pome fruits and their derived products worldwide. It is considered to be mutagenic, genotoxic, immunotoxic, teratogenic and cytotoxic, and the development of strategies to reduce this contamination is an active field of research. We previously reported that sp. is able to degrade patulin and convert it into the breakdown products desoxypatulinic acid and ascladiol, both of which were found to be less toxic than patulin. The specific aim of this study was the evaluation of the triggering of the mechanisms involved in patulin resistance and degradation by sp. Cells pre-incubated in the presence of a low patulin concentration showed a higher resistance to patulin toxicity and a faster kinetics of degradation. Similarly, patulin degradation was faster when crude intracellular protein extracts of sp. were prepared from cells pre-treated with the mycotoxin, indicating the induction of the mechanisms involved in the resistance and degradation of the mycotoxin by sp. This study contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms of patulin resistance and degradation by sp., which is an essential prerequisite for developing an industrial approach aiming at the production of patulin-free products.