Resilience to Climate Change by Biocontrol Yeasts Against Ochratoxin A Production in Robusta Coffee

<i>Aspergillus carbonarius</i> is the main producer of Ochratoxin A (OTA) in coffee. In the last few years, there has been an increasing interest in using yeast isolates as Biocontrol Agents to prevent OTA production in coffee cherries during the primary postharvest processing. Little is...

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Main Authors: Claudia López-Rodríguez, Carol Verheecke-Vaessen, Caroline Strub, Angélique Fontana, Tagro Guehi, Sabine Schorr-Galindo, Angel Medina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Toxins
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/17/3/110
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author Claudia López-Rodríguez
Carol Verheecke-Vaessen
Caroline Strub
Angélique Fontana
Tagro Guehi
Sabine Schorr-Galindo
Angel Medina
author_facet Claudia López-Rodríguez
Carol Verheecke-Vaessen
Caroline Strub
Angélique Fontana
Tagro Guehi
Sabine Schorr-Galindo
Angel Medina
author_sort Claudia López-Rodríguez
collection DOAJ
description <i>Aspergillus carbonarius</i> is the main producer of Ochratoxin A (OTA) in coffee. In the last few years, there has been an increasing interest in using yeast isolates as Biocontrol Agents to prevent OTA production in coffee cherries during the primary postharvest processing. Little is known about how climate change abiotic conditions of increased temperature (+2–4 °C), elevated CO<sub>2</sub> (existing levels of 400 vs. 1000 ppm), and increased drought stress will impact biocontrol resilience. This study examined the effect of a three-way interaction between temperature (27, 30, and 33 °C) x water activity (a<sub>w</sub>) (0.90 and 0.95 a<sub>w</sub>) x CO<sub>2</sub> level (400 vs. 1000 ppm) on the growth and OTA production of <i>A. carbonarius</i> and the resilience of three yeast strains’ biocontrol capacity on fresh coffee cherries. High a<sub>w</sub> (0.95), CO<sub>2</sub>, and temperature levels increased the production of OTA by <i>A. carbonarius</i>. All the yeast biocontrol strains significantly reduced <i>A. carbonarius</i> growth by at least 20% and OTA production by up to 85%. From the three strains used, the <i>Meyerozyma caribbica</i> strain (Y4) showed the best resilience to climate change, since it reduced both growth (50%) and OTA production (70%) under future scenarios of CO<sub>2</sub> and a<sub>w</sub> at all temperatures tested, and should be the one selected for pilot scale experiments in Ivory Coast.
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spelling doaj-art-678786922d5c46009d28b32ba3db2e902025-08-20T02:43:09ZengMDPI AGToxins2072-66512025-02-0117311010.3390/toxins17030110Resilience to Climate Change by Biocontrol Yeasts Against Ochratoxin A Production in Robusta CoffeeClaudia López-Rodríguez0Carol Verheecke-Vaessen1Caroline Strub2Angélique Fontana3Tagro Guehi4Sabine Schorr-Galindo5Angel Medina6Magan Centre of Applied Mycology, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UKMagan Centre of Applied Mycology, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UKQualisud, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Avignon Univ, Univ de La Réunion, 34095 Montpellier, FranceQualisud, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Avignon Univ, Univ de La Réunion, 34095 Montpellier, FranceLaboratory of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Nangui Abrogoua, P.O. Box 801 Abidjan 02, Côte d’IvoireQualisud, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Avignon Univ, Univ de La Réunion, 34095 Montpellier, FranceMagan Centre of Applied Mycology, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK<i>Aspergillus carbonarius</i> is the main producer of Ochratoxin A (OTA) in coffee. In the last few years, there has been an increasing interest in using yeast isolates as Biocontrol Agents to prevent OTA production in coffee cherries during the primary postharvest processing. Little is known about how climate change abiotic conditions of increased temperature (+2–4 °C), elevated CO<sub>2</sub> (existing levels of 400 vs. 1000 ppm), and increased drought stress will impact biocontrol resilience. This study examined the effect of a three-way interaction between temperature (27, 30, and 33 °C) x water activity (a<sub>w</sub>) (0.90 and 0.95 a<sub>w</sub>) x CO<sub>2</sub> level (400 vs. 1000 ppm) on the growth and OTA production of <i>A. carbonarius</i> and the resilience of three yeast strains’ biocontrol capacity on fresh coffee cherries. High a<sub>w</sub> (0.95), CO<sub>2</sub>, and temperature levels increased the production of OTA by <i>A. carbonarius</i>. All the yeast biocontrol strains significantly reduced <i>A. carbonarius</i> growth by at least 20% and OTA production by up to 85%. From the three strains used, the <i>Meyerozyma caribbica</i> strain (Y4) showed the best resilience to climate change, since it reduced both growth (50%) and OTA production (70%) under future scenarios of CO<sub>2</sub> and a<sub>w</sub> at all temperatures tested, and should be the one selected for pilot scale experiments in Ivory Coast.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/17/3/110biocontrolfungimycotoxin<i>Coffea canephora</i>safetypostharvest control
spellingShingle Claudia López-Rodríguez
Carol Verheecke-Vaessen
Caroline Strub
Angélique Fontana
Tagro Guehi
Sabine Schorr-Galindo
Angel Medina
Resilience to Climate Change by Biocontrol Yeasts Against Ochratoxin A Production in Robusta Coffee
Toxins
biocontrol
fungi
mycotoxin
<i>Coffea canephora</i>
safety
postharvest control
title Resilience to Climate Change by Biocontrol Yeasts Against Ochratoxin A Production in Robusta Coffee
title_full Resilience to Climate Change by Biocontrol Yeasts Against Ochratoxin A Production in Robusta Coffee
title_fullStr Resilience to Climate Change by Biocontrol Yeasts Against Ochratoxin A Production in Robusta Coffee
title_full_unstemmed Resilience to Climate Change by Biocontrol Yeasts Against Ochratoxin A Production in Robusta Coffee
title_short Resilience to Climate Change by Biocontrol Yeasts Against Ochratoxin A Production in Robusta Coffee
title_sort resilience to climate change by biocontrol yeasts against ochratoxin a production in robusta coffee
topic biocontrol
fungi
mycotoxin
<i>Coffea canephora</i>
safety
postharvest control
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/17/3/110
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