Characterization of Ugandan Endemic <i>Aspergillus</i> Species and Identification of Non-Aflatoxigenic Isolates for Potential Biocontrol of Aflatoxins
Acute stunting in children, liver cancer, and death often occur due to human exposure to aflatoxins in food. The severity of aflatoxin contamination depends on the type of <i>Aspergillus</i> fungus infecting the crops. In this study, <i>Aspergillus</i> species were isolated f...
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Toxins |
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| author | Godfrey Wokorach Sofie Landschoot Amerida Lakot Sidney Arihona Karyeija Kris Audenaert Richard Echodu Geert Haesaert |
| author_facet | Godfrey Wokorach Sofie Landschoot Amerida Lakot Sidney Arihona Karyeija Kris Audenaert Richard Echodu Geert Haesaert |
| author_sort | Godfrey Wokorach |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Acute stunting in children, liver cancer, and death often occur due to human exposure to aflatoxins in food. The severity of aflatoxin contamination depends on the type of <i>Aspergillus</i> fungus infecting the crops. In this study, <i>Aspergillus</i> species were isolated from households’ staple foods and were characterized for different aflatoxin chemotypes. The non-aflatoxigenic chemotypes were evaluated for their ability to reduce aflatoxin levels produced by aflatoxigenic <i>A. flavus</i> strains on maize grains. <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> (63%), <i>A. tamarii</i> (14%), and <i>A. niger</i> (23%) were the main species present. The <i>A. flavus</i> species included isolates that predominantly produced aflatoxins B1 and B2, with most isolates producing a high amount (>20 ug/µL) of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), and a marginal proportion of them also producing G aflatoxins with a higher level of aflatoxin G1 (AFG1) than AFB1. Some non-aflatoxigenic <i>A. tamarii</i> demonstrated a strong ability to reduce the level of AFB1 by more than 95% when co-inoculated with aflatoxigenic <i>A. flavus.</i> Therefore, field evaluation of both non-aflatoxigenic <i>A. flavus</i> and <i>A. tamarii</i> would be an important step toward developing biocontrol agents for mitigating field contamination of crops with aflatoxins in Uganda. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:42:44Z |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6651 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:42:44Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Toxins |
| spelling | doaj.art-de83116e30e2429fa61ab4d5a474851d2023-11-23T13:22:34ZengMDPI AGToxins2072-66512022-04-0114530410.3390/toxins14050304Characterization of Ugandan Endemic <i>Aspergillus</i> Species and Identification of Non-Aflatoxigenic Isolates for Potential Biocontrol of AflatoxinsGodfrey Wokorach0Sofie Landschoot1Amerida Lakot2Sidney Arihona Karyeija3Kris Audenaert4Richard Echodu5Geert Haesaert6Department of Plants and Crops, Campus Schoonmeersen Building C, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Valentin Vaerwyckweg 1, B-9000 Ghent, BelgiumDepartment of Plants and Crops, Campus Schoonmeersen Building C, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Valentin Vaerwyckweg 1, B-9000 Ghent, BelgiumMultifunctional Research Laboratories, Gulu University, Gulu P.O. Box 166, UgandaMultifunctional Research Laboratories, Gulu University, Gulu P.O. Box 166, UgandaDepartment of Plants and Crops, Campus Schoonmeersen Building C, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Valentin Vaerwyckweg 1, B-9000 Ghent, BelgiumMultifunctional Research Laboratories, Gulu University, Gulu P.O. Box 166, UgandaDepartment of Plants and Crops, Campus Schoonmeersen Building C, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Valentin Vaerwyckweg 1, B-9000 Ghent, BelgiumAcute stunting in children, liver cancer, and death often occur due to human exposure to aflatoxins in food. The severity of aflatoxin contamination depends on the type of <i>Aspergillus</i> fungus infecting the crops. In this study, <i>Aspergillus</i> species were isolated from households’ staple foods and were characterized for different aflatoxin chemotypes. The non-aflatoxigenic chemotypes were evaluated for their ability to reduce aflatoxin levels produced by aflatoxigenic <i>A. flavus</i> strains on maize grains. <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> (63%), <i>A. tamarii</i> (14%), and <i>A. niger</i> (23%) were the main species present. The <i>A. flavus</i> species included isolates that predominantly produced aflatoxins B1 and B2, with most isolates producing a high amount (>20 ug/µL) of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), and a marginal proportion of them also producing G aflatoxins with a higher level of aflatoxin G1 (AFG1) than AFB1. Some non-aflatoxigenic <i>A. tamarii</i> demonstrated a strong ability to reduce the level of AFB1 by more than 95% when co-inoculated with aflatoxigenic <i>A. flavus.</i> Therefore, field evaluation of both non-aflatoxigenic <i>A. flavus</i> and <i>A. tamarii</i> would be an important step toward developing biocontrol agents for mitigating field contamination of crops with aflatoxins in Uganda.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/14/5/304<i>Aspergillus flavus</i><i>Aspergillus niger</i><i>Aspergillus tamarii</i>aflatoxin B1 |
| spellingShingle | Godfrey Wokorach Sofie Landschoot Amerida Lakot Sidney Arihona Karyeija Kris Audenaert Richard Echodu Geert Haesaert Characterization of Ugandan Endemic <i>Aspergillus</i> Species and Identification of Non-Aflatoxigenic Isolates for Potential Biocontrol of Aflatoxins Toxins <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> <i>Aspergillus niger</i> <i>Aspergillus tamarii</i> aflatoxin B1 |
| title | Characterization of Ugandan Endemic <i>Aspergillus</i> Species and Identification of Non-Aflatoxigenic Isolates for Potential Biocontrol of Aflatoxins |
| title_full | Characterization of Ugandan Endemic <i>Aspergillus</i> Species and Identification of Non-Aflatoxigenic Isolates for Potential Biocontrol of Aflatoxins |
| title_fullStr | Characterization of Ugandan Endemic <i>Aspergillus</i> Species and Identification of Non-Aflatoxigenic Isolates for Potential Biocontrol of Aflatoxins |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterization of Ugandan Endemic <i>Aspergillus</i> Species and Identification of Non-Aflatoxigenic Isolates for Potential Biocontrol of Aflatoxins |
| title_short | Characterization of Ugandan Endemic <i>Aspergillus</i> Species and Identification of Non-Aflatoxigenic Isolates for Potential Biocontrol of Aflatoxins |
| title_sort | characterization of ugandan endemic i aspergillus i species and identification of non aflatoxigenic isolates for potential biocontrol of aflatoxins |
| topic | <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> <i>Aspergillus niger</i> <i>Aspergillus tamarii</i> aflatoxin B1 |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/14/5/304 |
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