Beneficial Mold Packaged in Bioplastic
Date: 22.10.2012
Aflatoxins are highly toxic carcinogens produced by several species of Aspergillus fungi. But not all Aspergillus produce aflatoxin. Some, in fact, are considered beneficial. One such strain, dubbed K49, is now being recruited to battle these harmful Aspergillus relatives, preventing them from contaminating host crops like corn with the carcinogen.
K49 is known as non-toxigenic (atoxigenic) because it cannot produce aflatoxin, unlike toxigenic strains of A. flavus and A. parasiticus that do. However, K49 is adept at excluding these aflatoxin-producing (toxigenic) "cousins" from ecological niches and resources that both need to survive. Exploiting this rivalry, called bio-competitive exclusion, offers an effective way to diminish aflatoxin levels in soil and in corn kernels.
Abbas and UB colleague Cesare Accinelli encapsulated K49 in bioplastic granules made of corn starch and other environmentally friendly ingredients. According to Abbas, the bioplastic granules improve the beneficial mold's storage life and viability once applied. In tests, applications of the bioplastic-coated K49 reduced aflatoxin levels by 65 to 97 percent. The scientists' research was published in 2011 inthe journal Crop Protection.
