PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF ASPERGILLUS FLAVUS POPULATIONS IN MEXICO, TEXAS, AND PAKISTAN
Publisher
The University of Arizona.Rights
Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.Abstract
Aflatoxins are carcinogenic secondary metabolites that are produced mainly by members of the Aspergillus section Flavi species. Maize has long been associated with A. flavus, for maize seems to be especially prone to A. flavus infection.. Through simple-sequence repeat (SSR) data, it can be shown that the population of L-morphotype A. flavus in Mexico is not extremely diverse, with most individuals sharing many alleles across 17 loci of the A. flavus genome. However, in Pakistan, a country that has only had maize for a couple of centuries, the L-morphotype A. flavus community is diverse and possesses many unique alleles. For this reason, we are able to sort fungal individuals into two populations: a Modern Population (Population M) and an Ancient Population (Population A). This study shows that the diversity among the A. flavus community in Pakistan is the result of a native A. flavus population taking control of a new maize crop rather than a quick evolution of the A. flavus already present on the maize. This study will also show that the Ancient Population is older than the Modern Population through diversity measures and SplitsTree analysis.Type
textElectronic Thesis
Degree Name
B.S.Degree Level
bachelorsDegree Program
Honors CollegeMolecular and Cellular Biology