Journal o f Environmental Protection and Ecology' 14, No 4, 1673-1679 (2013) Ecology- INHIBITION OF THE OCHRATOXIN-A PRODUCER Aspergillus carbonarius ON WHITE AND RED CRAPES BY CRUDE CELL-WALL DEGRADING ENZYMES FROM THE ANTARCTIC FUNGUS Lecanicillium muscarium CCFEE 5003 P. BARGHINI4, M. ESTIb, M. PASQUALETTI3, S. SILVI3, A. AQUILANTI3, M. FENICE3* dDEB, Dipartimento di Scienze Ecologiche e Biologiche, University oJ Tuscia, 01 100 Viterbo, Italy E-mail, fenice@unitus.it bDlBAF, Dipartimento per VInnovazione dei sistemi biologici, agroalimentari e fores tali, University o f Tuscia, 01 100 Viterbo, Italy Abstract. Ochratoxin A (OTA), a potent nephrotoxic and human carcinogenic agent, is found fre- quently in agricultural products such as cereals, coffee, cocoa beans, dried fruits, beers, grape musts and wines. OTA is produced by several molds belonging to species of Aspergillus and Penicillus. Several studies showed that A. carbonarius is the main OTA-producer in grapes and musts, particu- larly during post-harvest. Cell-wall degrading enzymes (CWDE), such as chitinases and glucanases, could reduce fungal contamination on several plant structures and could be used in food technology to reduce occurrence of these contaminants. The Antarctic fungus Lecanicillium muscarium CCFEE 5003 is a strong producer of CWDE, chitinases in particular. In this work, w hite and black grape bunches were inoculated with spore suspension of A. carbonarius to simulate natural contamina- tion. Grapes were then treated with crude CWDE solution from L. muscarium in order to study possible inhibition of the OTA-producer in post-harvest conditions. Presence of contaminants on untreated grapes (control) was very high (> 2000 cfu/ml). On treated bunches residual spores were 95 and 89% less than on the control, in white and red grape, respectively. Light microscopy showed that the enzyme solution caused various spore damages such as cell-wall disruption and protoplast formation and bursting. Keywords: Ochratoxin A, cell-wall degrading enzymes, Lecanicillium muscarium, white and red grape, contamination reduction. AIMS AND BACKGROUND In this work crude cell-wall enzymes of Lecanicillium muscarium CCFEE 5003 have been applied on red and white grape bunches inoculated with spores of As- pergillus carbonarius in order to reduce the OTA-producer contamination. Ochratoxin A (OTA) is an isocumarin derivative, thermostable mycotoxin commonly present in cereals, grapes, coffee, species, cocoa. OTA, a potent ne- * For correspondence. 1673