CONTAMINATION PROFILE BY FUNGI TOXIGENS AND MYCOTOXINS IN CORN GRAINS BY QUANTITATIVE PCR (qPCR)

• Grant number: 23/02169-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2023
• End date: December 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Molecular Genetics and Genetics of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Liliana de Oliveira Rocha
• Grantee: Luiza Wyatt Varga
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The corn (Zea mays L.) is highly important for human and animal nutrition, in addition to being considered one of the cereals with the highest production in the world. However, its seeds are susceptible to contamination by toxin-producing fungi, the species Fusarium verticillioides is the producer of fumonisins. Another corn contaminant species, Aspergillus flavus, is the main producer of B series aflatoxins. Genes related to toxin production are usually clustered and studies show that there is a correlation between fungal biomass, mycotoxin production and gene quantification related to their respective biosynthetic pathways. The objective of the project is to correlate the levels of fumonisins B1 + B2 and aflatoxins B1 + B2, as well as the biomass of the respective producing fungi, with the FUM19 and AFLQ genes in corn grain samples, using qPCR. It will be used 60 samples from southeastern Brazil and isolated in Agar Dichloran Rose Bengal Chloramphenil culture for morphological differentiation as F. verticillioides and Aspergillus, the confirmation of the identity of the isolates will be done through the EF-1± gene for F. verticillioides and BenA gene for Aspergillus. Five strains of F. verticillioides and A. flavus will be used to confirm the presence of the genes of interest in this study from conventional PCR reactions for the FUM19 and AFLQ genes. Statistical analyzes will be performed using graphs and tables prepared in Microsoft Excel 2016 and Prism software version 9 (GraphPad, 2022, v. 9.3.1), Pearson's correlation will be used according to the pattern presented by the concentration data of DNA and toxins, as well as the correlation of the contamination profile by F. verticillioides x FUM19 and Aspergillus flavus x AFLQ.