Abstract
There is little knowledge of the effect of acclimatization of Aspergillus flavus strains to climate-related abiotic factors and the subsequent effects on growth and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) production. In this study, two strains of A. flavus (AB3, AB10) were acclimatized for five generations in elevated CO2 (1000 ppm × 37 °C) on a milled pistachio-based medium. A comparison was made of the effects of non-acclimatized strains and those that were acclimatized when colonizing layers of pistachio nuts exposed to 35 or 37 °C, 400 or 1000 ppm CO2, and 0.93 or 0.98 water activity (aw), respectively. Acclimatization influenced the fitness in terms of the growth of one strain, while there was no significant effect on the other strain when colonizing pistachio nuts. AFB1, production was significantly stimulated after ten days colonization when comparing the non-acclimatized and the acclimatized AB3 strain. However, there was no significant increase when comparing these for strain AB10. This suggests that there may be inter-strain differences in the effects of acclimatization and this could have a differential influence on the mycotoxin contamination of such commodities.
Highlights
Global warming has received significant interest because of the concerns regarding its impact on food security, quality, and safety
The colonisation of raw pistachio nuts of strain AB3, which were acclimatized for five generations and exposed to climate change conditions, was changed, at both 0.93 and 0.98 aw
This study showed that when A. flavus was acclimatized for five generations in elevated CO2 on raw pistachio nuts, there were differential strain effects on growth and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) production
Summary
Global warming has received significant interest because of the concerns regarding its impact on food security, quality, and safety. Under CC conditions, plant growth and physiology will be modified together with the exposure to different fungal pathogens and pests [2,3]. This has been shown to change the regions where suitable environmental conditions occur for fungal infection and mycotoxin contamination [4,5]. It has been shown that the colonization of maize by Aspergillus flavus under CC-related abiotic factors results in the stimulation of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1 ) contamination [6,7]. The impact of CC conditions of elevated temperature (35 vs 37 ◦ C)
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