Can it be all more simple? Manufacturing aflatoxin biocontrol products using dry spores of atoxigenic isolates of Aspergillus flavus as active ingredients

Abstract

Aflatoxin contamination of staple crops, commonly occurring in warm areas, negatively impacts human and animal health, and hampers trade and economic development. The fungus Aspergillus flavus is the major aflatoxin producer. However, not all A. flavus genotypes produce aflatoxins. Effective aflatoxin control is achieved using biocontrol products containing spores of atoxigenic A. flavus. In Africa, various biocontrol products under the tradename Aflasafe are available. Private and public sector licensees manufacture Aflasafe using spores freshly produced in laboratories adjacent to their factories. BAMTAARE, the licensee in Senegal, had difficulties to obtain laboratory equipment during its first year of production. To overcome this, a process was developed in Ibadan, Nigeria, for producing highquality dry spores. Viability and stability of the dry spores were tested and conformed to set standards. In 2019, BAMTAARE manufactured Aflasafe SN01 using dry spores produced in Ibadan and sent via courier and 19 000 ha of groundnut and maize in Senegal and The Gambia were treated. Biocontrol manufactured with dry spores was as effective as biocontrol manufactured with freshly produced spores. Treated crops contained safe and significantly (P < 0.05) less aflatoxin than untreated crops. The dry spore innovation will make biocontrol manufacturing cost-efficient in several African countries.

Contributions of integrated aflatoxin management strategies to achieve the sustainable development goals in various African countries

“…development and commercialization process. Some components of the process have been described (Donner et al, 2009;Atehnkeng et al, 2014Atehnkeng et al, , 2016Adhikari et al, 2016;Bandyopadhyay et al, 2016Bandyopadhyay et al, , 2019aAgbetiameh et al, 2019Agbetiameh et al, , 2020Aikore et al, 2019;Ortega-Beltran et al, 2021a;Senghor et al, 2020) although those publications contain only a fraction of the wealth of field activities and interactions with diverse stakeholders.…”

Aflatoxin biocontrol effectiveness in the real world—Private sector-led efforts to manage aflatoxins in Nigeria through biocontrol-centered strategies

“…Maize, groundnut, and chili pepper treated in Nigeria with the same biocontrol product have proven to be effective (Atehnkeng et al, 2014;Bandyopadhyay et al, 2019;Ezekiel et al, 2019). The use of country-specific biocontrol products has similarly resulted in low aflatoxin levels in treated crops in other countries (Alaniz Zanon et al, 2016;Mauro et al, 2018;Savić et al, 2020;Senghor et al, 2020Senghor et al, , 2021Ortega-Beltran et al, 2021). However, previous trials in Nigeria were part of research efforts to determine whether the product was effective, the correct dosage, the best ways to manufacture the product, determine the willingness of farmers to use the product, build mechanisms to incentivize farmers to use the product, and generate evidence to showcase to the interested private and public sector to invest in the technology.…”

Multiple Year Influences of the Aflatoxin Biocontrol Product AF-X1 on the A. flavus Communities Associated with Maize Production in Italy

“…However, the predominant mechanism reported in agricultural fields is the modification of Aspergillus populations through the displacement of aflatoxin-producing potential [ 39 , 40 , 41 ]. The AF- strains displace the toxigenic strains and thereby reduce the aflatoxin content in many of the crops grown commercially in the United States, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, The Gambia, Ghana, and Italy [ 28 , 40 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ].…”