Advances in research of the structural gene characteristics of the aflatoxin biosynthetic gene cluster

Afl atoxins, produced by Aspergillus spp., are strongly toxic and carcinogenic fungal secondary metabolites. Afl atoxin biosynthesis is a complex process and involves at least 30 genes clustered within an approximately 75 kB gene cluster. In this paper, we reviewed current status of the researches on the characterized structural genes involved in afl atoxin biosynthesis and their roles in afl atoxin-producing fungi, especially in A. fl avus and A. parasiticus, which will improve our understanding of the mechanism of afl atoxin biosynthesis and regulation and provide reference for further study. Mini Review Advances in research of the structural gene characteristics of the afl atoxin biosynthetic gene cluster Qi-Zhang Li and Zhu-Mei He* Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Aquatic Economic Animals, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, People’s Republic of China *Address for Correspondence: Prof. Zhu-Mei He, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China, People’s Republic of China, Tel.: +86 20 84113065; Fax: +86 20 84036551; E-mail: lsshezm@mail.sysu.edu.cn Submitted: 22 October 2018 Approved: 30 October 2018 Published: 31 October 2018 Copyright: © 2018 Li Q, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited