Secondary metabolism in the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans is controlled by the conserved global regulator VeA, which also governs morphological differentiation. Among the secondary metabolites regulated by VeA is the mycotoxin sterigmatocystin (ST). The presence of VeA is necessary for the biosynthesis of this carcinogenic compound. We identified a revertant mutant able to synthesize ST int...

A microarray analysis was used to examine the effect of combinations of water activity (a(w), 0.995-0.90) and temperature (20-42°C) on the activation of aflatoxin biosynthetic genes (30 genes) in Aspergillus flavus grown on a conducive YES (20 g yeast extract, 150 g sucrose, 1 g MgSO(4)·7H(2)O) medium. The relative expression of 10 key genes (aflF, aflD, aflE, aflM, aflO, aflP, aflQ, aflX, aflR...

The carcinogen aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) produced by Aspergillus flavus is a major food safety concern in crops. However, information on AFB1 occurrence in soil and crop residue is scarce. A series of experiments investigated the occurrence of AFB1 in soil and corn residues and ascertained the ecology of A. flavus in a Dundee silt loam soil. Samples of untilled soil (0-2 cm) and residues were collect...

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is produced by Aspergillus flavus growing in feedstuffs. Early detection of maize contamination by aflatoxigenic fungi is advantageous since aflatoxins exert adverse health effects. In this study, we report the development of an optimized conventional PCR for AFB1 detection and a rapid, sensitive and simple screening Real-time PCR (qPCR) with SYBR Green and two pairs of prim...

Crops frequently contaminated by aflatoxins are important sources of revenue and daily nourishment in many portions of sub-Saharan Africa. In recent years, reports have associated aflatoxins with diminished human health and export opportunities in many African Nations. Aflatoxins are highly carcinogenic metabolites mainly produced by members of Aspergillus sect. Flavi. The current study examine...

aflatoxins are secondary toxic metabolites produced by some aspergillus spp. particularly, aspergillus flavus and a. parasiticus that contaminate food and feed. the objective of this study was to evaluate the contamination of feedstuffs with aspergillus spp. and detect genes involved in the aflatoxin biosynthesis pathway of a. flavus and a. parasiticus isolates. a total of 110 cow feed samples ...