Geographic Profiling of Aspergillus Species and Aflatoxin Variants Across Peanut-Growing Regions of Queensland Australia
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Long-Term Peanut Aflatoxin Data
2.2. Soil Sampling
2.3. Preparation of Media
2.3.1. Aspergillus flavus and parasiticus Agar (AFPA)
2.3.2. Coconut Cream Agar (CCA) Media
2.4. Plating Soil Samples on AFPA
2.5. Identification of Toxigenic Isolates
2.6. DNA Extraction and PCR
2.7. HPLC Analysis
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Aflatoxin Component Variants from HPLC Results
3.2. Identification of A. flavus and A. parasiticus from Soil Samples
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
| QLD | Queensland |
| PCA | Peanut Company of Australia |
| HPLC | High Performance Liquid Chromatography |
| °C | Degrees Celsius |
| mm | Milli-metre |
| m | Metre |
| AFPA | Aspergillus flavus and parasiticus Agar |
| psi | Pound per square inch |
| CCA | Coconut Cream Agar |
| mL | Milli-litre |
| g | Gram |
| µL | Micro-litre |
| UV | Ultra-Violet |
| DNA | Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid |
| PCR | Polymerase Chain Reaction |
| s | Seconds |
| min | Minute |
| BP | Base Paors |
| CFU | Colony forming units |
| VCG | Vegetation Compatibility Groups |
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| Location | Sample No. | Elevation (m asl) | Climate | Yearly Average | Peanut Season Average | Soil Type | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | Temp. (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Temp. (°C) | |||||
| Tolga | 3 | 594 | Tropical | 1617.7 | 23.4–30.8 | 1446.1 | 29.3–30.8 | Clay and Sandy |
| Bundaberg | 4 | 31 | Subtropical | 855.7 | 22.3–30.4 | 635.6 | 29.7–30.4 | Clay and Sandy |
| North Burnet | 3 | 122 | Subtropical | 711.6 | 22.9–33.7 | 526.7 | 32.8–33.7 | Clay |
| South Burnett | 3 | 434 | Subtropical | 66.8 | 19.6–30.9 | 484.9 | 29.9–30.9 | Clay |
| Species | Primers | Sequence (5′-3′) | Aplicon Size (bp) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aspergillus flavus | AfcamF | AATTTTATCCAGTTTCTGTTCGATC | 255 |
| AfcamR | AGGAACTCTATTTGAACATTAACAG | ||
| Aspergillus parasiticus | ApcamF | TGGCCGCCATAAGTTTATCAA | 183 |
| ApcamR | CCATTGTTGTCGGCGTCAA |
| Crop Year | Bundaberg | North Burnett | South Burnett | Tolga | Year Average | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aflatoxin Count | Rainfall (mm) | Aflatoxin Count | Rainfall (mm) | Aflatoxin Count | Rainfall (mm) | Aflatoxin Count | Rainfall (mm) | Aflatoxin Count | Rainfall (mm) | |
| 2020 | 5 (46) | 655 | - | 547 | 0 (7) | 622 | - | 1288 | 5 (53) | 778 |
| 2021 | 6 (41) | 931 | 1 (23) | 735 | 15 (38) | 983 | - | 1655 | 22 (102) | 1076 |
| 2022 | 15 (79) | 1281 | 86 (103) | 1039 | 60 (137) | 917 | 6 (14) | 1475 | 167 (333) | 1178 |
| 2023 | 16 (55) | 662 | 19 (28) | 581 | 18 (50) | 481 | - | 2401 | 49 (133) | 1031 |
| 2024 | 19 (29) | 1032 | - | 995 | 8 (11) | 995 | 5 (9) | 2200 | 32 (49) | 1306 |
| REGION AVERAGE | 61 (250) | 912 | 106 (154) | 779 | 97 (243) | 800 | 11 (23) | 1804 | 275 (670) | 1074 |
| Region | A. flavus | A. parasiticus | A. Flavus/A. parasiticus Ratio | Toxigenic/Non-Toxigenic Ratio % | Loads > 50% AFB1 and AFB2 | Loads > 50% AFG1 and AFG2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tolga | 4 | 118 | 3.3%/96.7% | 100%/0% | 30.82 | 69.18 |
| Bundaberg | - | 3 | 0%/100% | 100%/0% | 48.53 | 51.50 |
| South Burnet | - | 2 | 0%/100% | 100%/0% | 51.30 | 48.70 |
| North Burnett | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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Payne, R.; Adorada, D.L.; Wright, G.C.; Bhattarai, S. Geographic Profiling of Aspergillus Species and Aflatoxin Variants Across Peanut-Growing Regions of Queensland Australia. J. Fungi 2026, 12, 463. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof12070463
Payne R, Adorada DL, Wright GC, Bhattarai S. Geographic Profiling of Aspergillus Species and Aflatoxin Variants Across Peanut-Growing Regions of Queensland Australia. Journal of Fungi. 2026; 12(7):463. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof12070463
Chicago/Turabian StylePayne, Rebecca, Dante L. Adorada, Graeme C. Wright, and Surya Bhattarai. 2026. "Geographic Profiling of Aspergillus Species and Aflatoxin Variants Across Peanut-Growing Regions of Queensland Australia" Journal of Fungi 12, no. 7: 463. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof12070463
APA StylePayne, R., Adorada, D. L., Wright, G. C., & Bhattarai, S. (2026). Geographic Profiling of Aspergillus Species and Aflatoxin Variants Across Peanut-Growing Regions of Queensland Australia. Journal of Fungi, 12(7), 463. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof12070463

