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Mycotoxigenic potential of fungi isolated from freshly harvested Argentinean blueberries

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Abstract

Alternaria alternata, A. tenuissima, Fusarium graminearum, F. semitectum, F. verticillioides, Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus section Nigri strains obtained from blueberries during the 2009 and 2010 harvest season from Entre Ríos, Argentina were analyzed to determine their mycotoxigenic potential. Taxonomy status at the specific level was determined both on morphological and molecular grounds. Alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), aflatoxins (AFs), zearalenone (ZEA), fumonisins (FBs), and ochratoxin A (OTA) were analyzed by HPLC and the trichotecenes deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV), HT-2 toxin (HT-2), T-2 toxin (T-2), fusarenone X (FUS-X), 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (3-AcDON), and 15-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (15-AcDON) by GC. Twenty-five out of forty two strains were able to produce some of the mycotoxins analyzed. Fifteen strains of Aspergillus section Nigri were capable of producing Fumonisin B1 (FB1); two of them also produced Fumonisin B2 (FB2) and one Fumonisin B3 (FB3). One of the F. graminearum isolated produced ZEA, HT-2, and T-2 and the other one was capable of producing ZEA and DON. Two A. alternata isolates produced AOH and AME. Four A. tenuissima were capable of producing AOH and three of them produced AME as well. One Aspergillu flavus strain produced aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), aflatoxin B2 (AFB2), and aflatoxin G1 (AFG1). To our knowledge, this is the first report showing mycotoxigenic capacity of fungal species isolated from blueberries that include other fungi than Alternaria spp.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Universidad de Buenos Aires, Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica, Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Fundación de Investigaciones Científicas Teresa Benedicta de la Cruz, and the Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria for institutional support. The authors are grateful to Gabriela Cano and Daniela Taglieri for technical assistance, and Dr. Alexandra Gottlieb and M. Sc. Pablo Grijalba for their expert advice regarding molecular analysis.

Conflicts of interest

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias de la Alimentación, Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos, Concordia, Argentina

    Martin S. Munitz & Maria I. T. Montti

  2. Departamento de Química Orgánica. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Silvia L. Resnik & Paula M. Salas

  3. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Silvia L. Resnik

  4. Fundación de Investigaciones Científicas Teresa Benedicta de la Cruz, Luján, Argentina

    Ana Pacin & Vanesa Drunday

  5. Departamento de Ingeniería Química. Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Paula M. Salas & Hector H. L. Gonzalez

  6. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Hector H. L. Gonzalez

  7. Instituto de Genética Ewald A. Favret, INTA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Eduardo A. Guillin

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  1. Martin S. Munitz
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Correspondence to Martin S. Munitz.

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Munitz, M.S., Resnik, S.L., Pacin, A. et al. Mycotoxigenic potential of fungi isolated from freshly harvested Argentinean blueberries. Mycotoxin Res 30, 221–229 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-014-0206-2

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