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Abstract
Aflatoxins and the producing fungi Aspergillus section Flavi are widely known as the most serious and dangerous mycotoxin issue in agricultural products. In Europe, before the outbreak of aflatoxins on maize (2003–2004) due to new climatic conditions, their contamination was confined to imported foods. Little information is available on molecular biodiversity and population structure of Aspergillus section Flavi in Europe. Preliminary reports evidenced the massive presence of Aspergillus flavus L -morphotype as the predominant species in maize field, no evidence of the highly toxigenic S-morphotype and of other aflatoxigenic species are reported. The risk of a shift in traditional occurrence areas for aflatoxins is expected in the world and in particular in South East of Europe due to the increasing average temperatures. Biological control of aflatoxin risk in the field by atoxigenic strains of A. flavus starts to be widely used in Africa and USA. Studies are necessary on the variation of aflatoxin production in populations of A. flavus to characterize stable atoxigenic A. flavus strains. The aim of present article is to give an overview on biodiversity and genetic variation of Aspergillus section Flavi in Europe in relation to the management of aflatoxins risk in the field.
Highlights
The relatively recent outbreak of aflatoxins risk contamination in Europe has driven the EU researchers to investigate on this topic usually confined to tropical and sub-tropical areas
ATOXIGENIC STRAIN AND GENETIC VARIATION IN AFLATOXIN CONTROL STRATEGY Interest in the variation of aflatoxin production by strains of Aspergillus section Flavi has increased recently because atoxigenic strains of A. flavus are being used as biological control agents to reduce the risk of aflatoxin contamination (Atehnkeng et al, 2008; Wu and Khlangwiset, 2010)
Other factors should be considered for a successful application of biocontrol strategy such as the better understanding of natural diversity of A. flavus populations in agricultural soil, the ability of the introduced non-aflatoxigenic strains to recombine with the existing aflatoxigenic strains, the adaptation of A. flavus isolates for growth on the plant, the potential damage to the plant from the introduced strain, the potential effect on the soil microenvironment, the timing and the economical cost of application of biocontrol isolates, the potential production of other toxic metabolites, in addition to aflatoxins, which could affect animal health (Ehrlich, 2014)
Summary
The relatively recent outbreak of aflatoxins risk contamination in Europe has driven the EU researchers to investigate on this topic usually confined to tropical and sub-tropical areas. A big survey conducted by European Food Safety Authority [EFSA] (2007) evidenced the emerging issue of potential aflatoxin contamination of corn, almonds, pistachios grown in areas of Southern Europe, due to the subtropical climate occurring in some recent years.
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