Aspergillus flavus growth and aflatoxin production as influenced by total lipid content during growth and development of cottonseed

ABSTRACTAspergillus flavus infects several food and feed crops, such as corn (Zea mays L.), cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.), and tree nut crops and contaminates the seed with carcinogenic aflatoxins. These susceptible crops contain rich reserves of lipids and fatty acids. The nature of relationship between lipids and the ability of the fungus to infect and produce aflatoxins in mature cottonseed, a protein-rich animal feed, has been addressed previously. In this study, we tracked lipid accumulation in developing cottonseed (15–35 days post-anthesis [DPA]) and also the ability of an aflatoxigenic strain and an isogenic non-aflatoxigenic strain to grow and produce aflatoxins in planta. The aflatoxigenic strain Af-70 green fluorescent protein (GFP) and the isogenic, non-aflatoxigenic strain SRRC 1500 (fungal collections maintained at the Southern Regional Research Center) did not differ much in infection and colonization of cottonseed. The non-aflatoxigenic strain did not produc...