Effect of Aspergillus flavus contamination on the fungal community succession, mycotoxin production and storage quality of maize kernels at various temperatures

[Display omitted] •Epiphytic fungal community succession in maize kernels was influenced by storage temperature.•Eurotium was the dominant genus in all maize samples.•A. flavus exhibited a tendentious consumption of zein during maize storage.•The detoxification efficiency of AFB1 was superior to that of ZEN during maize wet processing. Aspergillus flavus, a notorious saprobe and opportunistic plant pathogen, alters mycotoxin contamination and biochemical components in maize kernels during processing and storage, thereby reducing the possibilities of maize end use and compromising food safety. This study explored changes in mycotoxin production, fungal community succession and biochemical components in maize kernels stored at 20, 25 and 30 °C, exposed to A. flavus. Results showed that aflatoxin B1 concentration increased over time, reaching 4.88 μg/kg at 20 °C, 167.23 μg/kg at 25 °C and 349.64 μg/kg at 30 °C after 15 days of storage, whereas the zearalenone production was characterized by an increase followed by a decrease. Correspondingly, the number of molds gradually increased and reached a stable stage after 10 days. High-throughput sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) revealed that Eurotium dominated the fungal communities, with A. flavus reaching maximum abundance in maize kernels stored at 30 °C for 15 days. Correlation analysis indicated that the relative abundance of A. flavus was significantly negatively correlated with the content of zein and moisture (P