<I>Aspergillus Flavus</I> and <I>Aspergillus Parasiticus</I
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
1395 Journal of Food Protection, Vol. 58, No. 12, Pages 1395-1404 Copyrighl©, International Association of Milk, Food and Environmental Sanitarians Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus: Aflatoxigenic Fungi of Concern in Foods and Feedst: A Review HASSAN GOURAMA* and LLOYD B. BULLERMAN* Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68583-0919 USA Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article-pdf/58/12/1395/1665895/0362-028x-58_12_1395.pdf by guest on 02 October 2021 (MS# 91-230: Received 22 December 19911Accepted 15 May 1995) ABSTRACT isolates are still used as specific names, e.g., Aspergillus capitatus, Aspergillus niger, etc. (98). Aspergillus are com- Aspergillusflavus and the closely related subspeciesparasiticus have long been recognized as major contaminants of organic and mon saprobic molds, which grow in a wide range of natural nonorganic items. A. flavus, a common soil fungus, can infest a wide substrates and climatic conditions. Austwick (8) reported that range of agricultural products. Some A. flavus varieties produce one conidial head may produce up to 50,000 spores. Aspergil- aflatoxins, which are carcinogenic toxins that induce liver cancer in lus spp. are of particular importance to humans. Although laboratory animals. A.flavus var.flavus, A.flavus subsp. parasiticus, many Aspergillus species are considered pathogens or spoil- and A. nomius share the ability to produce aflatoxins. Identification age organisms, many others are beneficial. Some species are of the A. flavus species group is mainly based on the color and used to prepare fermented foods (57). Aspergillus spp. can macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of the fungus. A. flavus also be allergenic, toxigenic, and pathogenic to humans and growth and aflatoxin biosynthesis depend on substrate, moisture, animals. Pathogenic Aspergillus spp. represent a real hazard temperature, pH, aeration, and competing microflora. The growth of to animal health: they can produce numerous diseases such as A. flavus and aflatoxin production are sometimes unavoidable. avian aspergillosis and bovine mycotic abortion (2). Mold Aflatoxins are considered natural contaminants; the ideal control approach is prevention of mold growth and aflatoxin production. The spores can cause hypersensitivity reactions in sensitized pa- detection of members of the A.flavus species group in foods and feed tients, fibrosis, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Aspergillus is generally carried out by using plate techniques such as surface spp. also produce mycotoxins, which are formed as secondary spread or direct plating. Research on alternative fungal detection metabolites and cause mycotoxicoses in animals and humans methods is still in its infancy. Few immunoassay techniques have (29). Aflatoxins which are produced by some Aspergillus been investigated in this regard. Aflatoxins are generally analyzed by jlavus species are considered potent carcinogens (12). chemical methods, although immunochemical methods which use antibodies are becoming common analytical tools for aflatoxins. MORPHOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION OF ASPERGILLUS FLA VUS Key words: Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus, aflatoxins The production of phialides and foot cells demonstrates the presence of Aspergillus species (95, 108). The production Species of Aspergillus have long been known to be of phialides alone is not enough to characterize aspergilli. common contaminants of human food and animal feeds. Although phialides are common to most Aspergillus spp. they Antonio Micheli in 1729 (84) was the first to name the genus are also formed by Penicillium species. Raper and Fennell Aspergillus. Micheli's monograph revolutionized mycology (98) reported that the presence of foot cells is evidence that a into a major science. Aspergillus species affect food products, mold isolate is Aspergillus; however, the absence offoot cells wood, leather, textiles, kerosine, paint, plastics, rubber, ce- does not prove that the isolate does not belong to Aspergillus ment, and pharmaceutical items (114). They possess a high group. Most morphological descriptions oftheA.jlavus group metabolic versatility and a great ability to disperse their were done on standard media such as Czapek's solution agar spores. Micheli noticed that the spore chains rise radially from and malt extract agar. the vesicle, which he thought resembled a holy-water sprin- kler (aspergillum). Micheli's Latin descriptions of the mold Conidial head The conidial head characteristics such as color, shape, t Published as Paper No.1 1009 Journal Series, Agricultural Re- and size are important key diagnostic criteria of the Aspergil- search Division, Lincoln, Nebraska 68583. Research was con- lus group (94, 98). The shape of conidial heads varies from ducted under Project 16-042. columnar to radiate and globose. The arrangement of phialides t Present Address: Food Science, Penn State Berks Campus, on the vesicle dictates the shape of the conidial head. The size Tulpehocken Road, P. O. Box 7009, Reading, PA 19610-6009. of the conidial head is determined by the size of the vesicle and JOURNAL OF FOOD PROTECTION, VOL. 58, DECEMBER 1995 1396 GOURAMA AND BULLERMAN the length of the conidial chains. The color of the conidia chain of conidia). Generally phialides are nonseptate. Al- determines the color of the conidial head; thus the color of though most A. jlavus species are biseriate (two layered), A. jlavus is light to deep yellow green, or olive green. some species are uniseriate (single layered). Conidiophore Spores (conidia) The conidiophore, which is also known as the stalk, is a Conidia (singular: conidium), also called spores, are thick-walled branch which arises perpendicularly from the asexual reproductive structures. Conidia in Aspergillus spp. foot cell (Fig. 1)(67). Generally conidiophores are unbranched are one-celled structures that can be uni- or multinucleate. The and are composed of three parts: the foot cell, stipe, and phialide is the conidiogenous cell. At the initial stages of spore vesicle. Although conidiophores are usually nonseptate, formation, the tip ofthe phialide is ruptured and a cytoplasmic septation may occur in certain species (98). The character of mass moves to the neck of the phial ide, forming a bulbous the outer surface of the conidiophore can vary from smooth to structure (54). New wall material is formed to close the new rough. These features constitute a key element for the identi- structure which forms the first conidium. The new conidia are fication of Aspergillus spp. The conidiophores in the A. jlavus formed beneath the earlier ones, so the oldest conidium is at group are rough and hyaline (nonpigmented). the apex of the chain while the youngest is at its base. After Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article-pdf/58/12/1395/1665895/0362-028x-58_12_1395.pdf by guest on 02 October 2021 mitosis in the phialide, the newly formed nuclei move into the young conidium. The formation of an inner conidial mem- brane severs the cytoplasmic connection. The conidia of the Aspergillus group are found in various shapes and colors and can be smooth or roughened. Sclerotia Certain species of the A. jlavus group produce sclerotia (singular: sclerotium). These are compact, hard masses of mycelia, which vary in size and shape. The color of sclerotia varies from yellow to brown or black. Sclerotia are survival structures which the fungus uses to overwinter in the soil. Production of sclerotia is an important diagnostic clue for some Aspergillus species (98). Cleistothecia and Hulle cells Hulle cells are thick-walled cells produced by some Aspergillus species. Cleistothecia are ascocarps (fruiting bod- ies) without an opening, that are involved in sexual reproduc- Figure 1. Conidiophores characteristic of Aspergillus spe- tion. They are found in the teleopmorphs of A. nidulans and A. cies, showing a single layer of phialides or sterigmata (uniseriate) and double layer of cells, phialides and metulae amstelodami. They are not known to be produced in the A. (biseriate). (Adaptedfrom Klich and Pitt (67); drawn by A. D. jlavus group (98). Hocking). CLASSIFICA TION AND IDENTIFICATION Vesicle Aspergillus taxonomy is mainly based on morphological The vesicle is the swollen apex of the conidiophore. The characteristics. Antonio Micheli applied the name Aspergillus shape can be globose, hemispherical, elliptical, or clavate to the imperfect state (anamorph) of the fungus (81) .Later, the (club shaped). Vesicles in the A. jlavus group are elongated perfect state (teleomorph) was discovered in some Aspergil- when young and become globose as the culture ages. The lus species, which created confusion in the taxonomy of the shape varies with the composition of the substrate. The Aspergillus group. Raper and Fennell (98) classified the genus diameter varies from 10 to 65 ~m (98). These features of the Aspergillus in both the Eurotiacea and Moniliacea families. vesicle are important diagnostic characters for identification They divided the genus into 18 groups and 132 species with 18 of Aspergillus species (Fig. 1). varieties. Minor revisions have been made since then (81). Sterigmata Samson and Van Reenen-Hoekstra (101) introduced 42 addi- Sterigmata (singular sterigma) are defined as specialized tional taxa and produced a useful survey of species described conidiogenous cells which develop on the fertile area of the since 1945. Raper and Fennell (98) summarized the important vesicle. Sterigmata