TITLE:
Inverse Correlation of Ability to Produce Aflatoxin and Aspergillus Colonization of Maize Seed
AUTHORS:
Kenneth C. Ehrlich, Qijian Wei, Robert L. Brown, Deepak Bhatnagar
KEYWORDS:
Spores, Gene Disruption, Biocontrol, Fungi
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.2 No.5,
July
8,
2011
ABSTRACT: Seeds of aflatoxin-resistant and aflatoxin-susceptible maize lines were inoculated with conidia of aflatoxin-producing Aspergillus flavus or A. parasiticus isolates or isogenic non-producing mutants. Conidia were recovered from resistant maize seed after seven days in significantly lower amounts for aflatoxin-producing A. flavus and A. parasiticus strains than for isogenic mutants incapable of aflatoxin production. This result helps to explain why, in currently used biocontrol strategies for aflatoxin elimination, non-aflatoxigenic isolates are able to out-compete aflatoxin-producing isolates for invasion of the seed.