Mycotoxigenic potential of fungi isolated from freshly harvested Argentinean blueberries

Abstract

Alternaria alternata, A. tenuissima, Fusarium graminearum, F. semitectum, F. verticillioides, Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus section Nigri strains obtained from blueberries during the 2009 and 2010 harvest season from Entre Ríos, Argentina were analyzed to determine their mycotoxigenic potential. Taxonomy status at the specific level was determined both on morphological and molecular grounds. Alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), aflatoxins (AFs), zearalenone (ZEA), fumonisins (FBs), and ochratoxin A (OTA) were analyzed by HPLC and the trichotecenes deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV), HT-2 toxin (HT-2), T-2 toxin (T-2), fusarenone X (FUS-X), 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (3-AcDON), and 15-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (15-AcDON) by GC. Twenty-five out of forty two strains were able to produce some of the mycotoxins analyzed. Fifteen strains of Aspergillus section Nigri were capable of producing Fumonisin B1 (FB1); two of them also produced Fumonisin B2 (FB2) and one Fumonisin B3 (FB3). One of the F. graminearum isolated produced ZEA, HT-2, and T-2 and the other one was capable of producing ZEA and DON. Two A. alternata isolates produced AOH and AME. Four A. tenuissima were capable of producing AOH and three of them produced AME as well. One Aspergillu flavus strain produced aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), aflatoxin B2 (AFB2), and aflatoxin G1 (AFG1). To our knowledge, this is the first report showing mycotoxigenic capacity of fungal species isolated from blueberries that include other fungi than Alternaria spp.

Seasonal and Geographical Impact on the Mycotoxigenicity of Aspergillus and Fusarium Species Isolated from Smallholder Dairy Cattle Feeds and Feedstuffs in Free State and Limpopo Provinces of South Africa

“…More so, the culture substrate (CYA) utilized in this study could be linked to the A. niger strains’ non-ochratoxigenic nature, as Esteban et al [ 49 ] observed that mean OTA levels produced by A. carbonarius and A. niger are substrate dependent. Our findings regarding OTA production by A. niger are in agreement with that observed by Munitz et al [ 50 ], who found that none of the 19 A. niger strains obtained from Argentinian blueberry produced OTA, similar to the study conducted in Africa by Njobeh et al [ 51 ] where over 17 strains of A. niger isolated from Cameroonian food commodities were non-OTA producers. Our results were also in line with the study performed by Sultan and Magan [ 52 ], wherein none of the A. niger strains recovered from peanuts sourced from different geographical regions of Egypt tested positive for mycotoxin.…”

Citrus flavonoids against Fusarium verticillioides in post-harvest maize: Minimization of fumonisins and alteration of fungal ultrastructure

“…Then, it was identified and further subjected to PCR analysis to validate the morphological identification. A fragment of the rDNA ITS1‐5.8S‐ITS2 region was amplified using the universal primers ITS5/ITS4 according to Munitz et al (2014), confirming its putative species. The strain was deposited at “Buenos Aires Facultad de Ciencias” (BAFC) Culture Collection from the “Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires” (Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, University of Buenos Aires).…”

Implications of Mycotoxins in Food Safety

“…Apples, represented by the varieties Fuji, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Red Delicious, in the study conducted by Ntasiou et al are most affected by mycotoxins-AOH, AME, and TEN [116]. According to Munitz et al isolated mycotoxins with the potential to be present in blueberries are FB1, FB2, FB3, ZEA, DON, AOH, AME, AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, HT-2, and T-2 [117].…”