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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #314919
Title: Targeting mycotoxin biosynthesis pathway genes

Author
item SROUR, ALI - Southern Illinois University
item FAKHOURY, AHMAD - Southern Illinois University
item Brown, Robert

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/7/2016
Publication Date: 12/7/2016
Citation: Srour, A.Y., Fakhoury, A.M., Brown, R.L. 2016. Targeting mycotoxin biosynthesis pathway genes. In: Moretti, A., Susca, A., editors. Mycotoxigenic Fungi: Methods and Protocols, Methods in Molecular Biology. New York, NY: Springer. 1542:159-171.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Chemical detoxification and physical destruction of aflatoxins in foods and feed commodities is mostly unattainable in a way that preserves the edibility of the food. Therefore, preventing mycotoxins in general and aflatoxins in particular from entering the food chain is a better approach. This requires early detection of the aflatoxin causing organisms. Detection and quantification of aflatoxin-producing fungi has always been a challenge, especially within species of Aspergillus and Penicillium. Culture-based methods require a high level of expertise and a list of sophisticated equipment. Furthermore, even for a trained taxonomist, species that are identical in morphology, physiology and nutritional aspects can be challenging to classify. Fungal taxonomy has changed over the past few decades; more species are being re-classified, and new species are being described due to advances in sequencing and genome assembly. These developments make the use of PCR-based approaches practical, rapid and more reliable for the identification of fungi to the species level. This chapter presents a variety of protocols to detect and quantify aflatoxin-producing fungi using mycotoxin biosynthesis pathway genes.