Abstract
Brazil is a country with great biodiversity; however, knowledge of this microbiological wealth is currently insufficient for its utilization in a sustainable manner. Agricultural expansion represents one of the largest current dangers to biodiversity and threatens to cause the extinction of a variety of species. This study therefore aimed to isolate and identify the species of fungi present in coffee beans cultivated in organic and conventional systems. Eighteen (18) samples of coffee beans from southern Minas Gerais were analyzed, and 346 fungal isolates were obtained from the analyzed coffee beans. These isolates belonged to 32 species in the following 14 genera: Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Cladosporium, Mucor, Rhizopus, Trichoderma, Epicoccum, Phoma, Bipolaris, Glomerella, Colletotrichum, Alternaria and Gliocladium. Organic coffee bean samples exhibited the highest indices of fungal diversity. Two species identified in this study, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus ochraceus, are extremely important for their toxigenic characteristics. We utilized simple correspondence analysis to evaluate the interaction of the identified fungi with the toxigenic species. An association of toxigenic fungi with other fungi is important because some microorganisms can degrade mycotoxins. In the organic coffee beans, A. flavus was associated with Cladosporium cladosporioides, A. ochraceus, and Penicillium brevicompactum. In contrast, in the conventional coffee beans, A. ochraceus was only associated with C. cladosporioides. These results demonstrate that greater fungal diversity exists in organic coffee beans. Key words: Interactions, microorganisms, mycotoxins, Aspergillus.
Highlights
Fungi exhibit greater species richness than most other organisms and, are of significant environmental and economic importance (Varga et al, 2011; Blackwell, 2011)
The biodiversity of Brazil is among the greatest in the world (Agostinho et al, 2005), and studies to estimate the risk of mycotoxins, biological control, or fungal diversity in agricultural systems are critical for the utilization of these microorganisms in biotechnological processes
Filamentous fungi were detected in all coffee bean samples from both the conventional and the organic cultivation systems
Summary
Fungi exhibit greater species richness than most other organisms and, are of significant environmental and economic importance (Varga et al, 2011; Blackwell, 2011). The biodiversity of Brazil is among the greatest in the world (Agostinho et al, 2005), and studies to estimate the risk of mycotoxins, biological control, or fungal diversity in agricultural systems are critical for the utilization of these microorganisms in biotechnological processes
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