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Aspergillus Section Flavi from Four Agricultural Products and Association of Mycotoxin and Sclerotia Production with Isolation Source

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Abstract

Many agricultural products are susceptible to contamination by aflatoxin-producing species from Aspergillus section Flavi. The objectives of this study were to determine the occurrence of Aspergillus section Flavi in four agricultural products, such as pistachio, walnut, hazelnut, and dried fruits, collected from market and retail shops in various areas of Kerman County and obtain information on the relationships between isolation source and ability to produce sclerotia and potential for aflatoxin production. Aspergillus species were identified based on morphological characteristics as well as subsequent sequencing of the parts of the β-tubulin and calmodulin genes. From 207 isolated strains, the following species were identified: A. flavus, A. tamarii A. nomius, A. parasiticus, A. arachidicola, A. caelatus, A. pseudotamarii, and A. leporis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of A. pseudotamarii and A. arachidicola with the potential to produce aflatoxins from dried apricots and hazelnuts, respectively. Sclerotial type was significantly different between isolates from different isolation sources. From 192 tested isolates, 38% were aflatoxin producer from which 5% were scored as strong aflatoxin producers and 33% as average aflatoxin producers. A significant difference in the population of aflatoxin-producing strains across the isolation sources was observed which may reflect host adaptation and thereby different vulnerabilities to aflatoxin-producing species among the examined products.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Iran National Science Foundation (INSF) under grant number 96000908 and the Institute of Science and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran, under Grant No. 97/532.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biodiversity, Institute of Science and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran

    Azadeh Habibi

  2. Department of Environment, Institute of Science and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran

    Daryoush Afzali

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  1. Azadeh Habibi
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The study concept and design were performed by AH and DA; The experiments, data analysis, and the manuscript drafting were performed by AH; the funds were collected by AH; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Azadeh Habibi.

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Habibi, A., Afzali, D. Aspergillus Section Flavi from Four Agricultural Products and Association of Mycotoxin and Sclerotia Production with Isolation Source. Curr Microbiol 78, 3674–3685 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-021-02620-8

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