Isolation and Molecular Identification of Fungal Colonization of Pu-erh Tea
The fungal colonization was investigated from 60 representative samples by using the method of dilution plating on the medium of Dichloran Rose-Bengal Chloramphenicol Agar (DRBC) and dichloran 18% glycerol (DG18) agar. The results of the survey showed that the fungal colonization ranged from 1.6×10~3 to 1.16×10~5 cfu/g, and 71 isolates were identified by means of sequencing the rDNA fragments, which belong to 40 species of 19 genera, including 13 species of Aspergillus and 7 species of Penicillium, and 20 species of other genera. The predominant fungi in number were yeasts and different species of the genus Aspergillus. Further evaluation on the safety of these fungi isolated from Pu-erh tea products is needed.