Little is known of the mycobiota present in ready-to-eat peanuts consumed in Southern Africa. Knowledge of the mycobiota and aflatoxigenic species can elucidate potential health risks associated with consumption of ready-to-eat peanuts sold by supermarkets and roadside vendors. We investigated the culturable mycobiota diversity in supermarket and roadside-vended peanuts as well as the presence of five aflatoxin biosynthesis pathway-related genes (aflR, aflJ, aflM, aflD, and aflP) in 15 suspected aflatoxigenic isolates, with a focus on Mafikeng, South Africa. Mean colony-forming unit (CFU) counts of 288.7 and 619.7 CFU/g were observed in supermarket and roadside-vended peanuts, respectively. A total of 145 fungal isolates comprising 26 distinct taxa (based on 97% internal transcribed spacer region [ITS1-5.8S-ITS2] sequence similarity) were obtained, including strains representing Aspergillus, Acremonium, Alternaria, Bipolaris, Chaetomium, Ectophoma, Epicoccum, Hamigera, Leancillium, Monascus, Penicillium, Periconia, Talaromyces, and Trichoderma. Phylogenetic analyses of concatenated sequences of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2, β-tubulin, and calmodulin genes delineated the species of Aspergillus, which included A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. hiratsukae, A. niger, and A. parasiticus. Higher species richness was obtained from supermarket peanuts compared with roadside-vended peanuts, with eight species common to both sources. Across supermarket or roadside-vended peanuts, A. fumigatus, A. niger, and A. flavus were prevalent (>40% incidence). In contrast, strains related to or representing Ectophoma multirostata, Aspergillus hiratsukae, Bipolaris zeae, Chaetomium bostrychodes, Epicoccum nigrum, Hamigera paravellanea, Lecanicillium aphanocladii, Monascus ruber, Periconia macrospinosa, Periconia lateralis, Talaromyces funiculosus, Talaromyces minioluteus, Talaromyces wortmannii, Talaromyces spp., and Trichoderma sp. were detected in either supermarket or roadside-vended peanuts. Among the five aflatoxin biosynthesis pathway-related genes, aflD and aflM were more prevalent (87%) and aflR was the least prevalent (40%). Findings suggest that roasted peanuts meant for human consumption and sold at supermarkets and by roadside vendors are contaminated with potential toxin-producing fungi. Hence, proper processing and packaging of peanuts before vending is recommended.

中文翻译：

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即食超市和路边售卖花生中菌群的系统发育多样性和流行率

人们对南部非洲食用的即食花生中存在的真菌群知之甚少。对真菌群和黄曲霉毒素物种的了解可以阐明与食用超市和路边摊贩出售的即食花生相关的潜在健康风险。我们调查了超市和路边出售的花生中可培养的真菌群落多样性，以及 15 个疑似黄曲霉毒素分离株中 5 个黄曲霉毒素生物合成途径相关基因（aflR、aflJ、aflM、aflD 和 aflP）的存在，重点是 Mafikeng、南非。在超市和路边出售的花生中观察到的平均菌落形成单位 (CFU) 计数分别为 288.7 和 619.7 CFU/g。共获得 145 个真菌分离株，包括 26 个不同的分类群（基于 97% 的内部转录间隔区 [ITS1-5.8S-ITS2] 序列相似性），包括代表曲霉属、枝顶孢属、链格孢属、双极属、毛壳菌属、外果霉属、Epicoccum、Hamigera、Leancillium、红曲霉属、青霉属、Periconia、Talaromyces 和木霉属的菌株。ITS1-5.8S-ITS2、β-微管蛋白和钙调蛋白基因的串联序列的系统发育分析描绘了曲霉属的物种，其中包括黄曲霉、烟曲霉、平冢曲霉、黑曲霉和寄生曲霉。与路边出售的花生相比，超市花生的物种丰富度更高，两种来源共有 8 种。在超市或路边出售的花生中，烟曲霉、黑曲霉和黄曲霉很普遍（发生率>40%）。相比之下，与 Ectophoma multirostata、Aspergillus hiratsukae、Bipolaris zeae、Chaetomium bostrychodes、Epicoccum nigrum、Hamigera paravellanea, Lecanicillium aphanocladii, 红曲霉, Periconia macrospinosa, Periconialateralis, Talaromyces funiculosus, Talaromyces minioluteus, Talaromyces wortmannii, Talaromyces spp., and Trichoderma sp. 在超市或路边出售的花生中检测到。在五种黄曲霉毒素生物合成途径相关基因中，aflD 和 aflM 更为普遍（87%），而 aflR 最不普遍（40%）。调查结果表明，供人类食用并在超市和路边小贩出售的烤花生被潜在的产毒真菌污染。因此，建议在出售前对花生进行适当的加工和包装。Talaromyces 属和木霉属。在超市或路边出售的花生中检测到。在五种黄曲霉毒素生物合成途径相关基因中，aflD 和 aflM 更为普遍（87%），而 aflR 最不普遍（40%）。调查结果表明，供人类食用并在超市和路边小贩出售的烤花生被潜在的产毒真菌污染。因此，建议在出售前对花生进行适当的加工和包装。Talaromyces 属和木霉属。在超市或路边出售的花生中检测到。在五种黄曲霉毒素生物合成途径相关基因中，aflD 和 aflM 更为普遍（87%），而 aflR 最不普遍（40%）。调查结果表明，供人类食用并在超市和路边小贩出售的烤花生被潜在的产毒真菌污染。因此，建议在出售前对花生进行适当的加工和包装。调查结果表明，供人类食用并在超市和路边小贩出售的烤花生被潜在的产毒真菌污染。因此，建议在出售前对花生进行适当的加工和包装。调查结果表明，供人类食用并在超市和路边小贩出售的烤花生被潜在的产毒真菌污染。因此，建议在出售前对花生进行适当的加工和包装。