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- The Interaction between Tribolium castaneum and Mycotoxigenic Aspergillus flavus in Maize FlourPublication . Duarte, Sónia; Magro, Ana; Tomás, Joanna; Hilário, Carolina; Alvito, Paula; Ferreira, Ricardo; Carvalho, M.OtiliaSimple Summary: It is important to hold cereals in storage conditions that exclude insect pests such as the red flour beetle and fungi, especially mycotoxin-producing ones (as a few strains of Aspergillus flavus). This work aims to investigate the interaction between these two organisms when thriving in maize flour. It was observed that when both organisms were together, the mycotoxins detected in maize flour were far higher than when the fungi were on their own, suggesting that the presence of insects may contribute positively to fungi development and mycotoxin production. The insects in contact with the fungi were almost all dead at the end of the trials, suggesting a negative effect of the fungi growth on the insects. Both organisms interacted when in contact. This is the first study on this issue, although further investigation would benefit from clarification on the mechanisms leading to the nature of the detected interactions.