Morphological Characterization and Determination of Aflatoxigenic and Non-Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus Isolated from Sweet Corn Kernels and Soil in Malaysia

Rahim Khan, Farinazleen Mohamad Ghazali, Nor Ainy Mahyudin and Nik Iskandar Putra Samsudin
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Rahim Khan: Department of Food Science, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Farinazleen Mohamad Ghazali: Department of Food Science, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Nor Ainy Mahyudin: Department of Food Service and Management, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Nik Iskandar Putra Samsudin: Department of Food Science, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang 43400, Malaysia

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-13

Abstract: This study aimed to morphologically characterize and determine the aflatoxigenic and non-aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus isolates. Forty isolates of A. flavus were obtained from sweet corn kernels and soil samples collected from Kampong Raja, Rose Valley, Kea, and Klebang farms in Malaysia. They were cultured on potato dextrose agar (PDA), dichloran rose-bengal chloramphenicol (DRBC), Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus agar (AFPA), and coconut cream agar (CCA). Macromorphological characteristics were determined by observing the colony color and texture, while the micromorphological characteristics were determined by examining the spore color, size, structure, conidiophore structure, and vesicle shape. The production of aflatoxin was determined by direct visualization of the UV fluorescence of A. flavus colonies on CCA. Aflatoxin was qualitatively detected in 18 (45%) isolates of A. flavus using UV fluorescence screening while the remaining 22 (55%) isolates did not exhibit any aflatoxin production. The highest incidence of A. flavus (30%) and aflatoxin production (15%) was recorded in samples from Kampong Raja. On the other hand, isolates from Rose Valley (17%) and Kea (12%) were non-aflatoxigenic. Klebang recorded a 25% incidence of A. flavus in which 15% were aflatoxigenic while 10% were non-aflatoxigenic. The occurrence of aflatoxin-producing A. flavus emphasizes the need for the measure to eradicate their presence in food crops. A biological control treatment utilizing the non-aflatoxigenic strains to compete with the aflatoxigenic ones is underway. Validation of aflatoxin production through high performance liquid chromatography is also ongoing.

Keywords: aflatoxin; Aspergillus flavus; morphological characterization; UV fluorescence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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