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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Dear all,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Please join us in Marley 230 on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 4:00 PM for a seminar presented by Ally Dalaya from the School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><a href="https://arizona.zoom.us/j/83044711714?pwd=IQ994mWIPwbsRKMnfF9sERx5sNtv4m.1">Zoom link</a>: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/83044711714 (password: SPLS24).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Refreshments will be provided in the Marley Lobby at 3:30 PM.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Title: </span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Growth and competition between biocontrol and aflatoxin-producing genotypes of
<i>Aspergillus flavus</i> in soil<b> <o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Abstract: </span></b><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Aspergillus flavus</span></i><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> is a saprotrophic soil fungus and opportunistic pathogen of oilseed crops. During crop
colonization, <i>A. flavus</i> can produce highly potent carcinogens called aflatoxins, resulting in economic losses.
<i>A. flavus</i> resides in soil on crop debris, and sporulates and disperses onto the crop during the growing season. One effective method of reducing aflatoxin contamination is the application of non-aflatoxigenic
<i>A. flavus</i> genotypes as biocontrol (BC) agents that competitively exclude aflatoxin-producing
<i>A. flavus</i> (AF) in field soil and on crops. Survival, growth, and competition between BCs and AFs in the soil impact persistence of applied BCs over multiple growing seasons.
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of biotic and abiotic soil factors on growth and competition between biocontrol and aflatoxigenic isolates of
<i>A. flavus</i>. A series of experiments were conducted to evaluate the impact of crop debris type (maize/cotton), crop debris placement (on top of/mixed into soil), and temperature on growth, sporulation capacity, and competition between AF and BC genotypes
over time. Though <i>A. flavus</i> growth and sporulation varied among soils and crop debris types, trends were similar among treatments with total
<i>A. flavus</i> biomass in soil increasing over time but the capacity for crop debris to support sporulation decreasing over time. The BC genotype comprised a greater proportion of the total
<i>A. flavus</i> biomass when crop debris was buried when compared to on the soil surface, while the opposite was true for the AF genotype, suggesting that soil microbes and/or soil physical properties may modulate interactions between AF and BC genotypes.
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Future directions involve evaluating differences among soil microbial communities and physical properties of different soils in relation to BC persistence in the field. Characterization of factors that favor
growth and sporulation of BCs in soil will help to predict long-term persistence of BCs and enhance mitigation of aflatoxin contamination. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";mso-ligatures:none">===============================================================<br>
</span><b><span style="font-size:20.0pt;font-family:"Vladimir Script";mso-ligatures:none">Zhongguo Xiong</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";mso-ligatures:none"> <br>
School of Plant Sciences BIO5 Institute<br>
BIO5 Email: <span style="color:blue"><a href="mailto:zxiong@arizona.edu"><span style="color:blue">zxiong@arizona.edu</span></a></span>
<br>
Phone: (520)-621-9869<br>
Forbes 303, P.O. box 210036 Fax: (520)-621-7186<br>
University of Arizona <br>
Tucson, AZ 85721-0036 <span style="color:blue"><a href="http://ag.arizona.edu/~zxiong"><span style="color:blue">http://ag.arizona.edu/~zxiong</span></a></span><br>
===============================================================</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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