Evaluation of Post-harvest Aflatoxin Production in Peanut Germplasm with Resistance to Seed Colonization and Pre-harvest Aflatoxin Contamination

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Q. Xue ◽  
T. G. Isleib ◽  
G. A. Payne ◽  
G. OBrian

Abstract Contamination of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) with aflatoxin produced by species of Aspergillus remains a problem for the U.S. peanut industry. Several peanut genotypes were reported to be resistant to in vitro seed colonization by Aspergillus flavus Link ex Fries (IVSCAF), to field seed colonization by A. flavus (FSCAF), or to preharvest aflatoxin contamination (PAC), but few to production of aflatoxin per se. Cotyledons of 39 peanut genotypes reportedly resistant to IVSCAF, FSCAF, or PAC, and eight susceptible to PAC were evaluated in four tests for their ability to support aflatoxin production after inoculation with A. flavus. Cultivars Perry and Gregory were used as checks in each test. Seed cotyledons were separated, manually blanched, inoculated with conidia of A. flavus, placed on moistened filter paper in petri dishes, and incubated for 8 d at 28 C. Dishes were arranged on plastic trays enclosed in plastic bags and stacked with PVC spacers between trays. Incomplete block designs were used for all tests. In each test, none of the genotypes examined was completely resistant to aflatoxin production, but significant genotypic variation was observed in the amount of total aflatoxin accumulated in seeds. Genotypes previously reported to be resistant to IVSCAF, FSCAF, or PAC exhibited differential abilities to support aflatoxin production. PI 590325, PI 590299, PI 290626, and PI 337409 supported reduced levels of aflatoxin, and their degree of resistance was consistent across tests. Fungal growth was highly correlated with aflatoxin production in three tests. The results from this study suggested that there were no absolute relationships of aflatoxin production resistance with IVSCAF, FSCAF, or PAC resistance, but that it should be possible to identify a genotype with high IVSCAF, FSCAF, or PAC resistance and reduced capacity for aflatoxin production by A. flavus.

Plant Disease ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 87 (11) ◽  
pp. 1360-1365 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Q. Xue ◽  
T. G. Isleib ◽  
G. A. Payne ◽  
R. F. Wilson ◽  
W. P. Novitzky ◽  
...  

The effect of the high-oleate trait of peanut on aflatoxin production was tested by comparing normal oleic lines with high-oleic backcross-derived lines. Seeds were blanched, quartered, and inoculated with Aspergillus flavus conidia, placed on moistened filter paper in petri dishes, and incubated for 8 days. In one experiment, dishes were stacked in plastic bags in a Latin square design with bags and positions in stacks as blocking variables. High-oleic lines averaged nearly twice as much aflatoxin as normal lines. Background genotype had no significant effect on aflatoxin content, and interaction between background genotype and oleate level was not detected. In a second experiment, dishes were arranged on plastic trays enclosed in plastic bags and stacked with PVC spacers between trays. Fungal growth and aflatoxin production were greater than in the first experiment. Background genotype, oleate level, and their interaction were significant. The mean of high-oleic lines was almost twice that of normal lines, but the magnitude of the difference varied with background genotype. Special care should be taken with high-oleic lines to prevent growth of Aspergillus spp. and concomitant development of aflatoxin contamination.


1994 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Basha ◽  
R. J. Cole ◽  
S. K. Pancholy

Abstract An in vitro seed culture system was established to grow peanut seed of different maturities viz. white, yellow, orange, brown and black, using a modified Murashige and Skoog medium. Under this system peanut seed of yellow, orange, brown and black maturity categories grew to maturity as measured by increase in their size and germinability. In vitro cultured seeds produced significant amounts of phytoalexins and were contaminated with aflatoxins following their inoculation with Aspergillus spp. while the noninoculated sterile controls did not produce any phytoalexins. Exposure of seed cultures to water stress using various concentrations of mannitol (0 to 1 M) and polyethylene glycol 8000 (0-30% w/v) caused a significant decrease in their phytoalexin producing ability, and enhanced fungal growth compared to the nonstressed controls. The seeds that were stressed with mannitol and subsequently inoculated with A. flavus and A. parasiticus showed a significant increase in the aflatoxin contamination of stressed seed compared to the unstressed control. This would indicate that in vitro grown seeds responded to water stress similar to the field grown peanuts by loosing their ability to produce phytoalexins and increased susceptibility to aflatoxin contamination. Hence, this system has a potential application in evaluating peanut genotypes for aflatoxin resistance under water stress.


Toxins ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 646 ◽  
Author(s):  
García-Díaz ◽  
Patiño ◽  
Vázquez ◽  
Gil-Serna

Aflatoxin (AF) contamination of maize is a major concern for food safety. The use of chemical fungicides is controversial, and it is necessary to develop new effective methods to control Aspergillus flavus growth and, therefore, to avoid the presence of AFs in grains. In this work, we tested in vitro the effect of six essential oils (EOs) extracted from aromatic plants. We selected those from Satureja montana and Origanum virens because they show high levels of antifungal and antitoxigenic activity at low concentrations against A. flavus. EOs are highly volatile compounds and we have developed a new niosome-based encapsulation method to extend their shelf life and activity. These new formulations have been successfully applied to reduce fungal growth and AF accumulation in maize grains in a small-scale test, as well as placing the maize into polypropylene woven bags to simulate common storage conditions. In this latter case, the antifungal properties lasted up to 75 days after the first application.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saifeldin Ahmed El-nagerabi ◽  
Abdulkadir E. Elshafie ◽  
Mohamed R. Elamin

<p>Aflatoxin and especially aflatoxin B<sub>1</sub> (AFB<sub>1</sub>) is a carcinogenic secondary metabolite synthesized by certain <em>Aspergillus </em>species. They contaminate natural and processed agricultural and animal products which render them unfit for consumption. The aim of this study was to evaluate the <em>in vitro</em> effects of <em>Balanites aegyptiaca</em> and <em>Tamarindus indica</em> fruit extracts on the growth and aflatoxin secretion of <em>Aspergillus flavus</em> (SQU21) and <em>A. parasiticus </em>(CBS921.7) strains. The two fruit extracts significantly (<em>P </em>&lt; 0.05) reduced aflatoxin and did not inhibit mycelial dry weights of the two <em>Aspergillus </em>strains. At different concentrations of balanites (2.5-10%), the inhibition of total aflatoxin was 49.9-84.8% for <em>A. flavus</em> (SQU21) and 32.1-84.4% for <em>A. parasiticus</em> (CBS921.7), whereas the inhibition of aflatoxin Bwas 38.2-81.4% and 32.8-80.6% for the two strains. Tamarind fruit extract (2.5-7.5%) caused 28.8-84.2% and 40.7-85.5% reductions in total aflatoxin and 37.1-83.5% and 33.9-85.9% in aflatoxin B for the two strains, respectively. None of these extracts inhibited the fungal growth or detoxified synthetic aflatoxin B<sub>1</sub>. We have concluded that these fruits contain various inhibitors to aflatoxin biosynthesis and secretion. Therefore, they can be used in combination as safe green biopreservatives to combat aflatoxin contamination of food.</p>


2002 ◽  
Vol 65 (12) ◽  
pp. 1984-1987 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. MELLON ◽  
P. J. COTTY

Soybean lines lacking lipoxygenase (LOX) activity were compared with soybean lines having LOX activity for the ability to support growth and aflatoxin B1 production by the fungal seed pathogen Aspergillus flavus. Whole seeds, broken seeds, and heat-treated (autoclaved) whole seeds were compared. Broken seeds, irrespective of LOX presence, supported excellent fungal growth and the highest aflatoxin levels. Autoclaved whole seeds, with or without LOX, produced good fungal growth and aflatoxin levels approaching those of broken seeds. Whole soybean seeds supported sparse fungal growth and relatively low aflatoxin levels. There was no significant difference in aflatoxin production between whole soybean seeds either with or without LOX, although there did seem to be differences among the cultivars tested. The heat treatment eliminated LOX activity (in LOX+ lines), yet aflatoxin levels did not change substantially from the broken seed treatment. Broken soybean seeds possessed LOX activity (in LOX+ lines) and yet yielded the highest aflatoxin levels. The presence of active LOX did not seem to play the determinant role in the susceptibility of soybean seeds to fungal pathogens. Seed coat integrity and seed viability seem to be more important characteristics in soybean seed resistance to aflatoxin contamination. Soybean seeds lacking LOX seem safe from the threat of increased seed pathogen susceptibility.


Toxins ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Prencipe ◽  
Ilenia Siciliano ◽  
Carlotta Gatti ◽  
Maria Gullino ◽  
Angelo Garibaldi ◽  
...  

Chestnut drying is used to prevent postharvest losses and microorganism contamination during storage. Several studies reported the contamination by aflatoxins (AFs) produced by Aspergillus spp. in chestnuts. The effect of drying temperatures (from 30 to 50 °C) was evaluated on the growth of A. flavus and the production of aflatoxins in chestnuts. The influence of the treatment on the proximate composition, the total phenol content and antioxidant activity of chestnuts was considered. Fungal colonization was observed on the nuts dried at 30, 35, and 40 °C; the incidence was lower at 40 °C. The highest concentrations of AFB1 and AFB2 were produced at 40 °C. No aflatoxins were detected at 45 or 50 °C. At 40 °C A. flavus was under suboptimal conditions for growth (aw 0.78), but the fungus was able to synthesize aflatoxins. As the temperatures applied increased, the total phenol content increased, while the antioxidant activity decreased. A drying treatment at 45 °C for seven days (aw 0.64) could be a promising method to effectively control both the growth of aflatoxigenic fungi and the production of aflatoxins. This study provides preliminary data useful to improve the current drying conditions used in chestnut mills, to reduce both fungal growth and aflatoxin production.


2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Niu ◽  
Y. Akasaka-Kennedy ◽  
P. Faustinelli ◽  
M. Joshi ◽  
K. Rajasekaran ◽  
...  

Abstract A nonheme chloroperoxidase gene (cpo-p) from Pseudomonas pyrrocinia, a growth inhibitor of mycotoxin-producing fungi, was introduced into peanut via particle bombardment. The expression of the cpo-p gene is predicted to increase pathogen defense in peanut. Embryogenic peanut tissues were bombarded with gold particles coated with plasmid pRT66 carrying the cpo-p and hygromycin phosphotransferase (hph) genes, under the control of a double CaMV 35S and a single CaMV 35S promoter, respectively. Selection for hygromycin-resistant somatic embryos was performed on a liquid medium containing 10–20 mg/L hygromycin 3–4 days after bombardment. The integration and expression of the cpo-p gene was confirmed by Southern, Northern and Western blot analyses. In vitro bioassay using crude protein extracts from transgenic T0, T1, and T4 plants showed inhibition of Aspergillus flavus hyphal growth, which could translate to a reduction in aflatoxin contamination of peanut seed.


Toxins ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta García-Díaz ◽  
Jessica Gil-Serna ◽  
Belén Patiño ◽  
Esther García-Cela ◽  
Naresh Magan ◽  
...  

Aflatoxin contamination of foodstuffs poses a serious risk to food security, and it is essential to search for new control methods to prevent these toxins entering the food chain. Several essential oils are able to reduce the growth and mycotoxin biosynthesis of toxigenic species, although their efficiency is strongly influenced by the environmental conditions. In this work, the effectiveness of Satureja montana and Origanum virens essential oils to control Aspergillus flavus growth was evaluated under three water activity levels (0.94, 0.96 and 0.98 aw) using a Bioscreen C, a rapid in vitro spectrophotometric technique. The aflatoxin concentrations at all conditions tested were determined by HPLC-FLD. Aspergillus flavus growth was delayed by both essential oil treatments. However, only S. montana essential oil was able to significantly affect aflatoxin production, although the inhibition percentages widely differed among water activities. The most significant reduction was observed at 0.96 aw, which is coincident with the conditions in which A. flavus reached the highest levels of aflatoxin production. On the contrary, the treatment with S. montana essential oil was not effective in significantly reducing aflatoxin production at 0.94 aw. Therefore, it is important to study the interaction of the new control compounds with environmental factors before their application in food matrices, and in vitro ecophysiological studies are a good option since they provide accurate and rapid results.


Toxins ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tihomir Kovač ◽  
Bojan Šarkanj ◽  
Biljana Crevar ◽  
Marija Kovač ◽  
Ante Lončarić ◽  
...  

Aspergillus flavus is the most important mycotoxin-producing fungus involved in the global episodes of aflatoxin B1 contamination of crops at both the pre-harvest and post-harvest stages. However, in order to effectively control aflatoxin contamination in crops using antiaflatoxigenic and/or antifungal compounds, some of which are photosensitive, a proper understanding of the photo-sensitive physiology of potential experimental strains need to be documented. The purpose of the study is therefore to evaluate the effect of visible (VIS) light illumination on growth and conidiation, aflatoxin production ability and modulation of A. flavus oxidative status during in vitro experiment. Aflatoxigenic A. flavus strain was inoculated in aflatoxin-inducing YES media and incubated under three different VIS illumination regimes during a 168 h growth period at 29 °C. VIS illumination reduced A. flavus mycelia biomass yield, both during growth on plates and in liquid media, promoted conidiation and increased the aflatoxin production. Furthermore, aflatoxin production increased with increased reactive oxidative species (ROS) levels at 96 h of growth, confirming illumination-driven oxidative stress modulation activity on A. flavus cells.


Toxins ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomohiro Furukawa ◽  
Shohei Sakuda

Aflatoxin contamination of crops is a worldwide problem, and elucidation of the regulatory mechanism of aflatoxin production, for example relative to the oxidative–antioxidative system, is needed. Studies have shown that oxidative stress induced by reactive oxygen species promotes aflatoxin production. However, superoxide has been suggested to have the opposite effect. Here, we investigated the effects of the superoxide generator, paraquat, and externally added superoxide dismutase (SOD) on aflatoxin production in Aspergillus flavus. Paraquat with an IC50 value of 54.9 µM inhibited aflatoxin production without affecting fungal growth. It increased cytosolic and mitochondrial superoxide levels and downregulated the transcription of aflatoxin biosynthetic cluster genes, including aflR, a key regulatory protein. The addition of bovine Cu/ZnSOD to the culture medium suppressed the paraquat-induced increase in superoxide levels, but it did not fully restore paraquat-inhibited aflatoxin production because bovine Cu/ZnSOD with an IC50 value of 17.9 µg/mL itself inhibited aflatoxin production. Externally added bovine Cu/ZnSOD increased the SOD activity in fungal cell extracts and upregulated the transcription of genes encoding Cu/ZnSOD and alcohol dehydrogenase. These results suggest that intracellular accumulation of superoxide impairs aflatoxin production by downregulating aflR expression, and that externally added Cu/ZnSOD also suppresses aflatoxin production by a mechanism other than canonical superoxide elimination activity.


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