Genetic fingerprinting and aflatoxin production of Aspergillus section Flavi associated with groundnut in eastern Ethiopia

Mohammed, A and Faustinelli, P C and Chala, A and Dejene, M and Fininsa, C and Ayalew, A and Ojiewo, C O and Hoisington, D A and Sobolev, V S and Martínez-Castillo, J and Arias, R S (2021) Genetic fingerprinting and aflatoxin production of Aspergillus section Flavi associated with groundnut in eastern Ethiopia. BMC Microbiology (TSI), 21. pp. 1-12. ISSN 1471-2180

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Abstract

Background Aspergillus species cause aflatoxin contamination in groundnut kernels, being a health threat in agricultural products and leading to commodity rejection by domestic and international markets. Presence of Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus colonizing groundnut in eastern Ethiopia, as well as presence of aflatoxins have been reported, though in this region, no genetic studies have been done of these species in relation to their aflatoxin production. Results In this study, 145 Aspergillus isolates obtained from groundnut kernels in eastern Ethiopia were genetically fingerprinted using 23 Insertion/Deletion (InDel) markers within the aflatoxin-biosynthesis gene cluster (ABC), identifying 133 ABC genotypes. Eighty-four isolates were analyzed by Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) for in vitro aflatoxin production. Analysis of genetic distances based on the approximately 85 kb-ABC by Neighbor Joining (NJ), 3D-Principal Coordinate Analysis (3D-PCoA), and Structure software, clustered the isolates into three main groups as a gradient in their aflatoxin production. Group I, contained 98% A. flavus, including L- and non-producers of sclerotia (NPS), producers of B1 and B2 aflatoxins, and most of them collected from the lowland-dry Babile area. Group II was a genetic admixture population of A. flavus (NPS) and A. flavus S morphotype, both low producers of aflatoxins. Group III was primarily represented by A. parasiticus and A. flavus S morphotype isolates both producers of B1, B2 and G1, G2 aflatoxins, and originated from the regions of Darolabu and Gursum. The highest in vitro producer of aflatoxin B1 was A. flavus NPS N1436 (77.98 μg/mL), and the highest producer of aflatoxin G1 was A. parasiticus N1348 (50.33 μg/mL), these isolates were from Gursum and Darolabu, respectively. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that combined the use of InDel fingerprinting of the ABC and corresponding aflatoxin production capability to describe the genetic diversity of Aspergillus isolates from groundnut in eastern Ethiopia. Three InDel markers, AFLC04, AFLC08 and AFLC19, accounted for the main assignment of individuals to the three Groups; their loci corresponded to aflC (pksA), hypC, and aflW (moxY) genes, respectively. Despite InDels within the ABC being often associated to loss of aflatoxin production, the vast InDel polymorphism observed in the Aspergillus isolates did not completely impaired their aflatoxin production in vitro.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Research Program : East & Southern Africa
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Aflatoxin, Aspergillus, Genetic diversity, Peanut, Insertion/deletion markers
Subjects:	Mandate crops > Groundnut Others > Genetics and Genomics Others > Aflatoxins
Depositing User:	Mr Nagaraju T
Date Deposited:	12 Jun 2025 05:05
Last Modified:	12 Jun 2025 05:05
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/13149
Official URL:	https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12866-0...
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	This study was made possible through support provided by the Office of Agriculture, Research and Policy, Bureau of Food Security, U.S. Agency for International Development, under the terms of award No. AID-ECG-A-00-07-0001 to the University of Georgia as a management entity for the U.S. Feed the Future Innovation Lab on Peanut Productivity and Mycotoxin Control. Additional support was provided by the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, NP 301, Research Project 6604–21000-003-00D.
Links:	Google Scholar

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