Mycoflora isolation and molecular characterization of Aspergillus and Fusarium species in Tunisian cereals

Abstract

Wheat, barley and maize are the mainly consumed cereals in Tunisia. This study aimed to determine the mycoflora of these cereals with special focus on the mycotoxigenic and species. Freshly harvested samples and other stored samples of each type of cereal (31 and 34 samples, respectively) were collected in Tunisia and cultured for fungal isolation and identification. Identification of fungal genera was based on morphological and species were identified by species specific PCR assays complemented with DNA sequencing. (70.83%), (62.50%), (54.17%) and (41.67%) were the most frequent fungi isolated from wheat. (75%), (70%), (65%) and (65%) were the most frequently recovered genera from barley. The predominant genera in maize were (76.19%), (42.86%), and (38.09%)., , and were detected in both stored and freshly harvested grain samples. The frequencies of contamination with, and were higher in freshly harvested samples, whereas species were more frequent in stored samples. The predominant species detected were and. The species detected were, ,, and . This study suggested the potential risk for Aflatoxins and, to a lesser extent, for Ochratoxin A in Tunisian cereals. This is the first survey about mycoflora associated with wheat, barley and maize in Tunisia.

Molecular characterization of ochratoxigenic fungi associated with poultry feedstuffs in Saudi Arabia

“…This result similar to the data were recorded by Jedidi et al. (2018) who revealed that discrimination of the two species of the A . niger aggregate ( A .…”

Polyphasic characterization of Aspergillus section Flavi isolated from animal feeds in Algeria

“…The dominance of A. flavus have been reported in other commodities from Algeria such as wheat and wheat products (Riba et al, ), dried fruits (Ait Mimoune et al, ), peanuts (Guezlane‐Tebibel et al, ), and spices (Azzoune et al, ). Similar results were shown in other African countries like Tunisia for cereals (Jedidi et al, ; Jedidi, Cruz, González‐Jaén, & Said, ), and Tunisian vineyards (Melki Ben Fredj et al, ), Morocco for wheat grains (Hajjaji et al, ) and Nigeria for maize and marketed poultry feed (Atehnkeng et al, ; Ezekiel, Atehnkeng, Odebode, & Bandyopadhyay, ).…”

Quantitative Research of Systematic and Functional Microbial Groups Associated with Decaying Solid Green Household Waste in Water and Soil

“…This approach has been confirmed by several authors, including Mehta et al [28], which have been reported to be dominated by mesophilic fungi, such as Aspergillus, Fusarium and Mucor during the later stages of composting. For fungal successions, a decay agent can replace other species when changes in the substrate have interacted with changes in saprophytic competitiveness and inoculum potential, giving it a decisive advantage [29,30].…”