Detection of Aspergillus flavus penetration in tree nuts using fluorescent antibody technique.
Indirect fluorescent antibody technique was used for the detection of A. flavus entry in pistachio nuts where the kernel is protected with a hard, usually nonsplit, shell. Sound nuts were inoculated with a toxigenic species of A. flavus and stored at 88% RH for three weeks at 29 degrees C. Aflatoxins could be detected in the kernels at a level of 65 micrograms/kg at the end of this period. Antisera for A. flavus was produced using female New Zealand white rabbits. Cross sections of various parts of the shell were treated using indirect fluorescent antibody technique. Microscopic examinations revealed mycelial fragments only in sections taken from the vascular system. Presence of fluorescent mycelial fragments in the vascular bundles indicate that fungal invasion of tree nuts which are protected with a hard shell take place through the vascular system.
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D001230:Aspergillus / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D009754:Nuts