Molecular Detection of Aspergillus Species from Food Sold in Amassoma, Nigeria

Ebidor Lawani-Luwaji; Alade Tolulope; Kalama Confidence

doi:10.37284/eajhs.6.1.1195

Ebidor Lawani-Luwaji Niger Delta University
Alade Tolulope Niger Delta University
Kalama Confidence Niger Delta University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37284/eajhs.6.1.1195

Keywords: Aspergillus, Amplification, ITS, Molecular Techniques

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Abstract

Fungal infections are quite common in humans and range from common, superficial infections to invasive and life-threatening infections. With at least 12 phyla and several fungal species globally, more than 500 species are expected to be infectious to man. One such is the ubiquitous Aspergillus species that mainly causes infection in immunocompromised individuals and those with underlying pulmonary disease. This study compared traditional identification methods and molecular biology techniques to isolate Aspergillus species from food samples sold in the University community. Some selected food samples frequently purchased in the community were analysed for the presence of Aspergillus species using both traditional and molecular biology techniques. Amplification of the ITS region of the rRNA genes of the isolate was performed using the ITS gene. A specie identified as Aspergillus niger was phenotypically identified as Aspergillus sydowii, and another species identified as Aspergillus flavus phenotypically was identified as Aspergillus fumigatus genotypically. The results demonstrate that traditional methods might be misleading, especially to a non-taxonomist. Genotypic identification proved to be more reliable and less time-consuming than phenotypic identification

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