ISSN: 2471-9315
Youmma Douksouna*, Andrew Nyerere, Joel Masanga, Steven Runo, Zachée Ambang
Rice grain can be attacked by a range of pathogens, including Aspergillus species, which can cause accumulation of aflatoxins that represent a serious threat the consumers. Aflatoxins are naturally occurring toxic metabolites synthesized by certain species of Aspergillus. This study was designed to analyze the prevalence of Aspergillus species and aflatoxin-producing Aspergillus using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in rice grains being sold in the local markets. A total of 98 samples were randomly collected and primarily analyzed to observe the moisture content and fungal growth. Subsequently, Aspergillus species were isolated, characterized using ITS primers and screened for aflatoxigenic fungal targeting specific genes (nor-1 and ver-1) involved in aflatoxin biosynthetic pathway using PCR assay. It was observed that all tested samples were found contaminated with the highest prevalence of Aspergillus species and aflatoxigenic fungal, 55.4% and 36.4% for nor-1 and ver-1 respectively. Occurrence of high contamination level of Aspergillus species indicates the possible production of aflatoxins in rice grains. A total of 74 genomic DNA extracted from the isolates in this study, 55.4% of isolates were confirmed the aflatoxin producers by targeted genes. This research provides the baseline studies for the occurrence of Mycotoxigenic fungal species in rice grains being sold in local markets.