Diversity of Mycobiota in Spanish Grape Berries and Selection of U1 to Prevent Mycotoxin Contamination.

The occurrence of mycotoxins on grapes poses a high risk for food safety; thus, it is necessary to implement effective prevention methods. In this work, a metagenomic approach revealed the presence of important mycotoxigenic fungi in grape berries, including , aggregate species, or section . However, was not detected in any sample. One of the samples was not contaminated by any mycotoxigenic species, and, therefore, it was selected for the isolation of potential biocontrol agents. In this context, U1 was selected for biocontrol in vitro assays. The results showed that this yeast is able to reduce the growth rate of the main ochratoxigenic and aflatoxigenic spp. occurring on grapes. Moreover, U1 seems to be an effective detoxifying agent for aflatoxin B and ochratoxin A, probably mediated by the mechanisms of adsorption to the cell wall and other active mechanisms. Therefore, U1 should be considered in an integrated approach to preventing AFB and OTA in grapes due to its potential as a biocontrol and detoxifying agent.