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. 2020 Mar 5;12(3):162.
doi: 10.3390/toxins12030162.

Biological Control of Aflatoxin in Maize Grown in Serbia

Zagorka Savić  1 , Tatjana Dudaš  1 , Marta Loc  1 , Mila Grahovac  1 , Dragana Budakov  1 , Igor Jajić  1 , Saša Krstović  1 , Tijana Barošević  1 , Rudolf Krska  2   3 , Michael Sulyok  2 , Vera Stojšin  1 , Mladen Petreš  1 , Aleksandra Stankov  1 , Jelena Vukotić  1 , Ferenc Bagi  1
Affiliations

Biological Control of Aflatoxin in Maize Grown in Serbia

Zagorka Savić et al. Toxins (Basel). .

Abstract

Aspergillus flavus is the main producer of aflatoxin B1, one of the most toxic contaminants of food and feed. With global warming, climate conditions have become favourable for aflatoxin contamination of agricultural products in several European countries, including Serbia. The infection of maize with A. flavus, and aflatoxin synthesis can be controlled and reduced by application of a biocontrol product based on non-toxigenic strains of A. flavus. Biological control relies on competition between atoxigenic and toxigenic strains. This is the most commonly used biological control mechanism of aflatoxin contamination in maize in countries where aflatoxins pose a significant threat. Mytoolbox Af01, a native atoxigenic A. flavus strain, was obtained from maize grown in Serbia and used to produce a biocontrol product that was applied in irrigated and non-irrigated Serbian fields during 2016 and 2017. The application of this biocontrol product reduced aflatoxin levels in maize kernels (51-83%). The biocontrol treatment had a highly significant effect of reducing total aflatoxin contamination by 73%. This study showed that aflatoxin contamination control in Serbian maize can be achieved through biological control methods using atoxigenic A. flavus strains.

Keywords: Aspergillus flavus; Serbia; aflatoxin; atoxigenic strain; biological control; maize.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Images of multiplex PCR products aligned to a schematic diagram from Callicot and Cotty [19] of chromosome 3 containing the aflatoxin cluster.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparative view of the missing 40 kb region in atoxigenic strain (Mytoolbox Af01), toxigenic A. flavus strains (AF70, AF13, NPRL3357), atoxigenic A. flavus strain (AF36), and atoxigenic A. oryzae strain (RIB40).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Multivariate test showing the influence of biocontrol on AFB1 contamination levels in 2016 and 2017.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Multivariate test showing the influence of irrigation on AFB1 contamination levels in 2016 and 2017.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Deviation of total precipitation (columns) and average daily air temperature (lines) from the multiannual average (1981–2010) in Sombor during 2016.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Deviation of total precipitation (columns) and average daily air temperature (lines) from the multiannual average (1981–2010) in Sombor during 2017.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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