1. A strain of Aspergillus flavus from China shows potential as a biocontrol agent for aflatoxin contamination.
- Author
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Zhou, Lu, Wei, Dan-Dan, Selvaraj, Jonathan Nimal, Shang, Bo, Zhang, Chu-Shu, Xing, Fu-Guo, Zhao, Yue-Ju, Wang, Yan, and Liu, Yang
- Subjects
ASPERGILLUS flavus ,BIOLOGICAL pest control agents ,AFLATOXINS ,ASPERGILLUS parasiticus ,POLYMERASE chain reaction - Abstract
Aflatoxins are toxic and carcinogenic secondary metabolites produced byAspergillus flavusandAspergillus parasiticus. Strains ofA. flavusthat are non-aflatoxigenic (i.e., incapable of secreting aflatoxins) have proven effective in controlling contamination by these aflatoxin producing species in the field. In the present study, a non-aflatoxigenicA. flavusstrain, GD-3, was isolated from a peanut field in Guangdong Province, China. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis showed that 12 aflatoxin biosynthesis genes (aflT, pksA, nor-1, fas-2, fas-1, aflR, aflJ, adhA, estA, norA, ver-1 and verA) were deleted in GD-3. Co-inoculation with a toxigenic strain, GD-15, at the ratio of 1:10, 1:1 or 10:1 (GD-3:GD-15), showed that GD-3 was capable of reducing detectable aflatoxin levels on three different substrates. This reduction ranged from 33% to 99% and correlated with competitor ratio. These results demonstrated that GD-3 was successful at reducing aflatoxin contamination and showed promise as a potential agent of biocontrol for local farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
- Published
- 2015
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