Invasion pathway of peanut flower by green fluorescence protein

摘要

Colonization of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) seed by Aspergillus flavus and subsequent aflatoxin contamination is a serious worldwide problem. Although colonization of peanut pods by A. flavus can occur either before or after harvest (Sander et al, 1985;Dorner et al, 1989) and this fungus can infect pods in the soil during fruit development or earlier during the flower or aerial peg stage (Mehan et al., 1991). Little is known of the nature and mechanisms by which this fungus infects peanut flowers. Thedevelopment of an A. flavus strain that produce green fluorescence protein (GFP) offers the opportunity to track pathways of infection which have not been clearly identified.