Résumé
Wild yeasts isolated from the surface of apples were screened for antagonistic activity against
, the main producer of the mycotoxin patulin. Three antagonistic yeasts (Y33, Y29 and Y24) from a total of 90 were found to inhibit
growth. Identification by ITS region sequence and characterization showed that three selected isolates of yeast should be different strains of
Several concentrations of the selected yeasts were used to study their in vitro antifungal effectivity against
on Petri dishes (plates with 63.6 cm
surface) whereas their potential activity on patulin reduction was studied in liquid medium. Finally, the BCA that had the best in vitro antifungal capacity against
and the best patulin degradation capacity was selected to be assessed directly on apples. All the selected strains demonstrated antifungal activity in vitro but the most efficient was the strain Y29. Isolated strains were able to reduce patulin content in liquid medium, Y29 being the only strain that completely reduced patulin levels within 120 h. The application of Y29 as biocontrol agent on the surface of apples inoculated with
inhibited fungal growth and patulin production during storage. Therefore, the results shown that this yeast strain could be used for the reduction of
and its mycotoxin in apples or apple-based products by adapting the procedure application.