Affiliation: | a Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, U.S.A. b Department of Agricultural Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, U.S.A. c Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, U.S.A. |
Abstract: | Bright greenish yellow (BGYF) and blue white (BWF) fluorescences were associated with Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus infected maize. The fluorescences were studied spectrofluorometrically, the BGYF exhibiting a peak wave length between 480–485 nm and the BWF between 440–445 nm. Neither fluorescence varied in maize stored under different moistures and temperatures. BWF was similar spectrally to the fluorescence of the endosperm of sound kernels but × 5 20 more intense. The spectrum of BWF was similar to Aflatoxin G1 or a mixture of aflatoxin B1, B2, G1 and G2 when they were spotted on endosperm tissue. A color reference for BGYF was similar in peak wave length to BGYF. Amsoy soybeans without the seed coat fluoresced with a peak 470–475 nm and the intensity was low compared to BGYF in maize. A fluorescence of maize kernels visually similar to BGYF but not associated with Aspergillus infection or aflatoxin contamination was also investigated. This “false BGY” fluorescence was spectrally similar to the BGYF in infected kernels. |