Discovery and confirmation of genes/proteins associated with maize aflatoxin resistance
Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the major crops susceptible to Aspergillus flavus infection and subsequent aflatoxin contamination. Many earlier studies indicated the roles of kernel proteins, especially constitutively expressed proteins, in maize resistance to A. flavus infection and aflatoxin production. In this review, we examined the past and current efforts in identifying maize genes and proteins from kernel, rachis, and silk tissues that may play an important role in resistance to A. flavus infection and aflatoxin contamination, as well as the efforts in determining the importance or involvement of them in maize resist...
Source: World Mycotoxin Journal - September 11, 2014 Category: Toxicology Tags: World Mycotoxin Journal Source Type: research
Looking for the best compromise in rapid food mycotoxin tests: speed, sensitivity, precision and accuracy
Mycotoxins provide additional challenges to food businesses in terms of successful management of food-safety management systems. These reflect, in part, an unusually high dependency on the activities of others in the supply chain to ensure that levels of contamination remain within set limits. Consequently analyses for mycotoxins by food businesses are primarily commissioned for one or a combination of two reasons: to determine compliance with regulatory or commercial standards or; as part of an exercise to verify the efficacy of the businesses foodsafety management systems. Given the regulatory/commercial implications, th...
Source: World Mycotoxin Journal - September 11, 2014 Category: Toxicology Tags: World Mycotoxin Journal Source Type: research
Extension education strategy for minimizing aflatoxin impact on sub-Saharan African agriculture and food systems
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the most vulnerable region of the world to all aflatoxin-related problems including food insecurity, ill health and reduced foreign exchange earnings. Aflatoxin-contaminated maize, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum and other crops reduce human access to adequate calories from these staples; consumption of aflatoxin-contaminated foods results in severe health conditions, including liver cancer, that deny the region a significant amount of otherwise productive man-hours; while the reduction of grain quality below the international standards due to aflatoxin contamination drastically reduces income in ...
Source: World Mycotoxin Journal - August 26, 2014 Category: Toxicology Tags: World Mycotoxin Journal Source Type: research
Climate change factors and A. flavus: effects on gene expression, growth and aflatoxin production
The objectives of this study were to obtain scientific data on the impact that interactions between water stress (water activity (aw); 0.97, 0.95, 0.92), temperature (34, 37 °C) and CO2 exposure (350, 650, 1000 ppm) may have on the growth, gene expression of biosynthetic genes (aflD, aflR), and phenotypic aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) production by a type strain of Aspergillus flavus on a conducive medium. The study showed that while aw affected growth there was no statistically significant effect of temperature or CO2 exposure. The effect of these interacting factors on aflD and aflR gene expression showed that at 34 °C there was...
Source: World Mycotoxin Journal - August 26, 2014 Category: Toxicology Tags: World Mycotoxin Journal Source Type: research
Maize lipids play a pivotal role in the fumonisin accumulation
The role of lipids in maize – Fusarium verticillioides interaction and fumonisin production in natural field conditions were investigated. In 2010, ten maize hybrids were grown in fields located in 3 districts in Northern Italy and sampled at 4 growing stages, from early dough to full ripe. Chemical composition, fungal incidence and free and hidden fumonisin contamination were determined in all grain samples. All the hybrids considered within this study showed a strong fungal incidence, with Fusarium section Liseola as prevalent, already at the early dough maturity and along the ripening period. Fumonisins accumulated ov...
Source: World Mycotoxin Journal - August 26, 2014 Category: Toxicology Tags: World Mycotoxin Journal Source Type: research
