Author(s)

Kenneth C. Ehrlich, Qijian Wei, Robert L. Brown, Deepak Bhatnagar

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Seeds of aflatoxin-resistant and aflatoxin-susceptible maize lines were inoculated with conidia of aflatoxin-producing Aspergillus flavus or A. parasiticus isolates or isogenic non-producing mutants. Conidia were recovered from resistant maize seed after seven days in significantly lower amounts for aflatoxin-producing A. flavus and A. parasiticus strains than for isogenic mutants incapable of aflatoxin production. This result helps to explain why, in currently used biocontrol strategies for aflatoxin elimination, non-aflatoxigenic isolates are able to out-compete aflatoxin-producing isolates for invasion of the seed.

Spores, Gene Disruption, Biocontrol, Fungi

K. Ehrlich, Q. Wei, R. Brown and D. Bhatnagar, "Inverse Correlation of Ability to Produce Aflatoxin and Aspergillus Colonization of Maize Seed," Food and Nutrition Sciences, Vol. 2 No. 5, 2011, pp. 486-489. doi: 10.4236/fns.2011.25070.