{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,19]],"date-time":"2026-09-19T00:43:41Z","timestamp":1789778621370,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Microbiology Society","issue":"1","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2006,1,1]]},"abstract":"Aflatoxins are polyketide-derived secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus parasiticus<\/jats:italic>, Aspergillus flavus<\/jats:italic>, Aspergillus nomius<\/jats:italic> and a few other species. The toxic effects of aflatoxins have adverse consequences for human health and agricultural economics. The aflR<\/jats:italic> gene, a regulatory gene for aflatoxin biosynthesis, encodes a protein containing a zinc-finger DNA-binding motif. Although Aspergillus oryzae<\/jats:italic> and Aspergillus sojae<\/jats:italic>, which are used in fermented foods and in ingredient manufacture, have no record of producing aflatoxin, they have been shown to possess an aflR<\/jats:italic> gene. This study examined 34 strains of Aspergillus<\/jats:italic> section Flavi<\/jats:italic>. The aflR<\/jats:italic> gene of 23 of these strains was successfully amplified and sequenced. No aflR<\/jats:italic> PCR products were found in five A. sojae<\/jats:italic> strains or six strains of A. oryzae<\/jats:italic>. These PCR results suggested that the aflR<\/jats:italic> gene is absent or significantly different in some A. sojae<\/jats:italic> and A. oryzae<\/jats:italic> strains. The sequenced aflR<\/jats:italic> genes from the 23 positive strains had greater than 96\u00b76\u200a% similarity, which was particularly conserved in the zinc-finger DNA-binding domain. The aflR<\/jats:italic> gene of A. sojae<\/jats:italic> has two obvious characteristics: an extra CTCATG sequence fragment and a C to T transition that causes premature termination of AFLR protein synthesis. Differences between A. parasiticus<\/jats:italic>\/A. sojae<\/jats:italic> and A. flavus<\/jats:italic>\/A. oryzae aflR<\/jats:italic> genes were also identified. Some strains of A. flavus<\/jats:italic> as well as A. flavus<\/jats:italic> var. viridis<\/jats:italic>, A. oryzae<\/jats:italic> var. viridis<\/jats:italic> and A. oryzae<\/jats:italic> var. effuses<\/jats:italic> have an A. oryzae<\/jats:italic>-type aflR<\/jats:italic> gene. For all strains with the A. oryzae<\/jats:italic>-type aflR<\/jats:italic> gene, there was no evidence of aflatoxin production. It is suggested that for safety reasons, the aflR<\/jats:italic> gene could be examined to assess possible aflatoxin production by Aspergillus<\/jats:italic> section Flavi<\/jats:italic> strains.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1099\/mic.0.27618-0","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2005,12,29]],"date-time":"2005-12-29T22:12:44Z","timestamp":1135894364000},"page":"161-170","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":47,"title":["Comparison of the aflR gene sequences of strains in Aspergillus section Flavi"],"prefix":"10.1099","volume":"152","author":[{"given":"Chao-Zong","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Bioresource Collection and Research Center, Food Industry Research and Development Institute, PO Box 246, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan, ROC"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guey-Yuh","family":"Liou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bioresource Collection and Research Center, Food Industry Research and Development 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