Abstract
Maize is one of the leading export products in the Republic of Serbia. As a country where economic development depends on agriculture, maize production plays a critical role as a crop of strategic importance. Potential aflatoxin contamination of maize poses a risk to food and feed safety and tremendous economic losses. No aflatoxin contamination of maize samples harvested in 2019 and 2020 in different localities in the Republic of Serbia was detected by the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) test and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method. On the other hand, the Cluster Amplification Patterns (CAP) analyses of the isolated Aspergillus flavus strains from 2019 maize samples confirmed the presence of key biosynthesis genes responsible for aflatoxin production. Artificial inoculation and subsequent HPLC analysis of the inoculated maize samples confirmed the high capacity of the A. flavus strains for aflatoxin production, pointing to a high risk of contamination under favorable conditions. Prevention of aflatoxin contamination is primarily based on A. flavus control, where biocontrol agents play a significant role as sustainable disease management tools. In this study, antagonistic activity screening of the novel strains belonging to the Bacillus genus indicated superior suppression of A. flavus strains by two Bacillus strains isolated from the rhizosphere of Phaseolus vulgaris.
Highlights
The share of agricultural production in the gross domestic product (GDP) in the Republic of Serbia accounts for approximately 10%
The High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method was applied to determine the aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and total aflatoxins content in collected samples of maize originated from 10 selected localities harvested in 2019 (Štitar, Valjevo, Pančevo, Sabanta, Subotica, Nadalj, Loznica, Bečej, Sombor, Rogojevac) (Table 1) and 2020 (Rumenka, Oparić, Kuzmin, Lepojević, Martinci, Krušedol, Valjevo, Beška, Bečej, Sombor) (Table 2)
The aflatoxin B1 content in the maize samples was determined by the EnzymeLinked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) test (Tables 3 and 4)
Summary
The share of agricultural production in the gross domestic product (GDP) in the Republic of Serbia accounts for approximately 10%. The country’s economic development heavily depends on the agricultural sector due to its importance in the food industry, where crops are used as raw materials, and the contribution of agricultural products in international trade. In 2020, maize was ranked second on the list of export products in the Republic of Serbia. It supports the fact that maize is the crop of strategic importance for the country [1]. The maize taking the dominant position in the world agricultural system is explained by the possibility of being used in food but other industry branches as a multipurpose crop. High nutritional values (carbohydrates content 70–75%) make maize suitable raw material for food and feed production and define this crop as a critical factor for world nutrition and livelihood security [3]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
