The inhibitory mechanism of methyl jasmonate on Aspergillus flavus growth and aflatoxin biosynthesis and two novel transcription factors are involved in this action

In this study, we confirmed the significantly inhibitory effects of MeJA on Aspergillus flavus growth and aflatoxin production. By transcriptomic analyses, AtfB and BrlA were obviously down-regulated under MeJA treatments. Two novel transcription factors were also recognized in this study, which positively affected AFB1 production and sclerotium development. Taken all, the inhibitory mechanism of MeJA on A. flavus were partly revealed, and we hope that our research could make some contributions to prevent aflatoxins contamination.