Immunochemical assay applied to mycotoxin biosynthesis: ELISA comparison of sterigmatocystin production by Aspergillus versicolor and Aspergillus nidulans

Abstract

Conventional thin layer and instrumental methods for analyzing mycotoxins and their precursors are time-consuming and make the investigation of mycotoxin biosynthesis particularly difficult. As an alternative, sensitive enzyme-liked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) can be utilized to analyze for these compounds. In this report, sterigmatocystin production in test tube cultures of Aspergillus versicolor ATCC 18643 and Aspergillus nidulans ATCC 32610 were compared using competitive ELISA. Polyclonal antiserum that was prepared against a sterigmatocystin hemiacetal-bovine serum albumin conjugate exhibited greatest specificity for sterigmatocystin hemiacetal and sterigmatocystin with less reactivity for O-methylsterigmatocystin. The antiserum could be used to detect as little as 50 ng/ml sterigmatocystin in ELISA. Direct ELISA could be performed on diluted culture broth and on mycelial extracts solubilized with N,N-dimethylformamide. Aspergillus versicolor ATCC 18643 produced more sterigmatocystin in SLS medium than in YES medium, and showed maximal levels at between 9 to 12 days incubation. Approximately 75% of sterigmatocystin was detectable in mycelium (254 micrograms/ml culture) compared to the extracellular fraction (87 micrograms/ml culture). Aspergillus nidulans exhibited qualitatively similar patterns of growth and toxigenesis in SLS medium but accumulated maximal levels of only 15 micrograms mycelial sterigmatocystin/ml culture and 5 micrograms extracellular sterigmatocystin/ml broth, respectively.