Revisiting an Strain Isolated from an Egyptian Sugarcane Field in 1930.

The aflatoxin type B and G producer was described in 2012 and was firstly reported from sputum, hospital air (Brazil), and soil (Colombia). Later, several survey studies reported the occurrence of this species in different foods and other agricultural commodities from several countries worldwide. This short communication reports on an old fungal strain (CBS 108.30), isolated from (grey sugarcane mealybug) from an Egyptian sugarcane field in (or before) 1930. This strain was initially identified as ; however, using the latest taxonomy schemes, the strain is, in fact, . These data and previous reports indicate that is strongly associated with sugarcane, and pre-harvest biocontrol approaches with non-toxigenic strains are likely to be more successful than those using non-toxigenic strains. Further studies on the association between and might shed light on the distribution (and aflatoxin contamination) of this species in sugarcane. Additionally, the interaction between , and sugarcane crop under different scenarios of climate change will be critical in order to get more insight into the host-pathogen interaction and host resistance and propose appropriate prevention strategies to decrease mycotoxin contamination and crop loss due to attack.