In: Sydowia 70, (2018): 179 - 184, ISSN 0082-0598, DOI 10.12905/0380.sydowia70-2018-0179, Published online on November 29th, 2018

Quantification of aflatoxin B1, B2, G1, G2 and detection of aflR, aflJ genes in Aspergillus flavus contaminated corn in poultry in Northeast of Iran
Omid Ghaleh Ghafi, Mahdieh Safarzad, Maryam Moazeni, Farhad Niknejad

Ghaleh Ghafi O., Safarzad M., Moazeni M. & Niknejad F. (2018) Quantification of aflatoxin B1, B2, G1, G2 and detection of aflR, aflJ genes in Aspergillus flavus contaminated corn in poultry in Northeast of Iran. – Sydowia 70: 179–184.

Fungal contamination in poultry feed is a serious threat for animal and human health. One of the most common fungi that contaminate poultry feed on various stages of collection and storage is Aspergillus flavus. Aflatoxin B1, B2, G1, and G2, produced by A. flavus, contaminate poultry feed and subsequently have harmful effects on birds and poultry industry. Furthermore, consumption of aflatoxin contaminated feed by poultry causes accumulation of these toxins in their tissues and aflatoxin transmission to the human food chain by consumption of eggs and meat; this can have unfavorable effects on human health. The aim of this study was to determine the poultry corn contamination with aflatoxin in the East of Golestan province and to detect aflR, aflJ genes in the samples. A total of 25 poultry corn samples were collected from poultry farms in East of Golestan province. The quantity of aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G2 was detected by HPLC, aflJ / aflR genes were detected by PCR. The survey showed that among the 25 samples, 17 (68 %) were Aspergillus contaminated. Approximately 28 % of corn was contaminated by aflatoxin with concentrations ranging from 0.42 to 12.4 µg/kg and 72 % of the samples were not contaminated. The aflR gene was not detected in any samples, but aflJ gene was detected in aflatoxinogenic isolates. The results show that aflJ is necessary for aflatoxin synthesis and risk of corn contamination with aflatoxin in poultry farm in East Golestan province is low.Keywords: Aspergillus, aflatoxin B1, B2, G1, G2, poultry feed.

Keywords: Aspergillus, aflatoxin B1, B2, G1, G2, poultry feed.