Specific detection of Aspergillus parasiticus in wheat flour by a highly sensitive PCR assay

Noelia Sardiñas (1) , Vázquez Covadonga (1) , Jéssica Gil-Serna (1) , González-Jaén Mª Teresa (2) , Belén Patiño (3)

1 Microbiology III
2 Department of Genetics [Madrid]
3 microbiology III

Aspergillus parasiticus is considered one of the most important aflatoxin producing species which contaminates foodstuffs and beverages for human consumption. In this work, a specific and highly sensitive PCR protocol was developed to detect A. parasiticus using primers designed on the multicopy internal transcribed region of the rDNA unit (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA). The assay proved to be highly specific to A. parasiticus when it was tested in a wide sample of related species and other fungal species commonly found in commodities, and it allowed discrimination from the closely related A. flavus. Accuracy of detection and quantification by conventional PCR were tested with genomic DNA obtained from wheat flour artificially contaminated with spore suspensions of known concentrations. Spore concentrations equal or higher than 106 spore/g could be detected by the assay directly without prior incubation of the samples. The assay described might be incorporated in routine analyses at critical points of the food chain within HAAPC strategies.

Mots clés: Life Sciences

Noelia Sardiñas, Vázquez Covadonga, Jéssica Gil-Serna, González-Jaén Mª Teresa, Belén Patiño. Specific detection of Aspergillus parasiticus in wheat flour by a highly sensitive PCR assay. Food Additives and Contaminants, 2010, 27 (06), pp.853-858. ⟨10.1080/19440041003645779⟩. ⟨hal-00593887⟩