Production of fumagillin by Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from traditional trituration units, Maasra , in Morocco

Olive oil production in Morocco is carried out at traditional trituration units called maasras . The thermophilic mycobiota present in these places was studied, from which strains of Aspergillus fumigatus were identifi ed by classical and molecular methods (ITS region from the rDNA). Selected strains of A. fumigatus were tested for fumagillin production using a quantitative analysis by HPLC. More than 700 thermophilic strains were obtained from maasras studied. The predominant species was A. fumigatus (31%). Eleven strains (50%), out of 22, of A. fumigatus were capable of producing fumagillin ranging from 4.55-46.48 ng/g of wheat dry weight.