Mycotoxin production capability of Penicillium roqueforti in strains isolated from mould-ripened traditional Turkish civil cheese.

Mould-ripened civil is a traditional cheese produced mainly in eastern Turkey. The cheese is produced with a mixture of civil and whey curd cheeses (lor). This mixture is pressed into goat skins or plastic bags and is ripened for more than three months. Naturally occurring moulds grow on the surface and inside of the cheese during ripening. In this research, 140 Penicillium roqueforti strains were isolated from 41 samples of mould-ripened civil cheese collected from Erzurum and around towns in eastern Turkey. All strains were capable of mycotoxin production and were analysed using an HPLC method. It was established that all the strains (albeit at very low levels) produced roquefortine C, penicillic acid, mycophenolic acid and patulin. The amounts of toxins were in the ranges 0.4-47.0, 0.2-43.6, 0.1-23.1 and 0.1-2.3 mg kg(-1), respectively. Patulin levels of the samples were lower than the others. The lowest level and highest total mycotoxin levels were determined as 1.2 and 70.1 mg kg(-1) respectively. The results of this preliminary study may help in the choice of secondary cultures for mould-ripened civil cheese and other mould-ripened cheeses.

Morphological, molecular, and mycotoxigenic identification of dominant filamentous fungi from moldy civil cheese.

Moldy Civil is a mold-ripened variety of cheese produced mainly in eastern Turkey. This cheese is produced with Civil cheese and whey curd cheese (Lor). Civil cheese has had a geographical presence since 2009 and is manufactured with skim milk. In the production of Moldy Civil cheese, Civil cheese or a mixture of Civil and Lor cheese is pressed into goat skins or plastic bags and ripened for 3 months or longer. During the ripening period, natural contaminating molds grow on the surface of and inside the cheese. In this study, 186 mold strains were isolated from 41 samples of Moldy Civil cheese, and 165 of these strains were identified as Penicillium roqueforti. Identification and mycotoxicologic analyses were conducted using morphotypic and molecular methods. PCR amplicons of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS4 region were subjected to sequence analysis. This research is the first using molecular methods on Moldy Civil cheese. Mycotoxicologic analyses were conducted using thin-layer chromatography, and random amplified polymorphic DNA genotypes were determined using the ari1 primer. Of 165 isolates, only 28 produced no penicillic acid, P. roqueforti toxin, or roquefortine.