engleski

Determination of biomass of Aspergillus flavus ATCC 26949 grown on corn grains

Chitin is a polysaccharide that makes the basic component of molulds' cell wall. Since corn grain and other cereals do not contain chitin, determination of chitin content can be used as a measure for biomass of moulds grown on solid substrate like corn and a good assay for detecting fungal contamination. The mould Aspergillus flavus ATCC 26949 was grown on corn grains as a solid substrate, at temperatures 25oC and 28oC. Inoculation was performed by 105 and 106 spores/g corn seed with a water content of 35% or 40%. There was an increase in the chitin content as the mold increased. The maximal biomass growth for this mould was obtained at 25oC and on the substrate with 40 % water content, inoculated with spores, after 21 days of cultivation. The future use of the chitin assay will depended upon improvements in sensitivity, assay time, simplified methodology and equipment, and development of reliable conversion factors for converting chitin to fungal dry weight.

Chitin; corn; biomass; fungal contamination

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