Occurrence of Toxigenic Fusarium spp. and Zearalenone in Scabby Rice Grains and Healthy Ones

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This study aimed to assess the incidence and distribution of toxigenic fungi in Korean oat. Toxigenic fungi were isolated from oat samples collected from 12 oat fields from heading to harvest in 2017 and 2018. A total of 745 fungal colonies were isolated based on morphology and identified using marker genes. About 92% of the fungal isolates were Fusarium spp. and others were Penicillium (5.9%) and Aspergillus (2.1%). Fusarium isolates comprised mostly of F. asiaticum (83.1%), followed by F. incarnatum (5.4%), F. proliferatum (3.5%), F. fujikuroi (2.8%), F. tricinctum species complex (FTSC) 11 (1.5%) and F. graminearum (1.0%). About 97% of F. asiaticum was nivalenol type, and 3-acetyl deoxynivalenol (3.2%) and 15-acetyl deoxynivalenol (0.4%) types also were found. Pathogenicity test of the selected Fusarium isolates revealed that F. asiaticum isolates have a wide range of virulence depending on the tested plants. F. graminearum and FTSC 11 isolates from blighted spikelets were the most virulent in naked oat. All Fusarium isolates (n=18) except one (FTSC 11) produced nivalenol (0.2-7.6 μg/g), deoxynivalenol (0.03-6.1 μg/g), and zearalenone (0.1-27.0 μg/g) on rice medium. This study is first report that F. asiaticum causes Fusarium head blight disease of oat in Korea. These findings demonstrate the dominance of F. asiaticum in oat agroecosystems as in rice, wheat and barley in Korea.

Identification and Chemotype Profiling of Fusarium Species in Korean Oat

Choi¹,

Nah²,

Jin³

et al. 2019

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Occurrence of Fusarium Species in Korean Sorghum Grains

Choi¹,

Nah²,

Jin³

et al. 2019

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A total of 1,159 Fusarium strains were isolated from sorghum grown in Danyang and Youngwol in 2017 and 2018. The isolates were analyzed to reveal genetic, toxigenic and pathogenic characteristics. Phylogenetic analysis using TEF-1α and RPB2 genes showed that the samples were contaminated with at least 17 Fusarium species. Among them, F. graminearum, F. proliferatum, F. thapsinum, F. incarnatum, and F. asiaticum were dominant species. In F. graminearum and F. asiaticum, F. graminearum-15-acetyl deoxynivalenol chemotype and F. asiaticum-nivalenol chemotype were frequent. Six Fusarium species tested produced one or more mycotoxins, except F. thapsinum and FTSC 11. F. proliferatum and F. fujikuroi had FUM1 gene (76.0% and 81.6%, respectively) and some isolates produced high level of fumonisin (over 1,000 µg/g). F. proliferatum and F. thapsinum were more virulent than other species on sorghum. These results indicate that Fusarium species in sorghum might produce multiple mycotoxins.

Ferulic Acid Content of Barley and Wheat Grains and Head Blight Resistance

Baek¹,

Kim²,

Jang³

et al. 2020

In order to find if a ferulic acid (FA) can be used as a selection index in cereal breeding for resistance to head blight and mycotoxin production, we analyzed FA in the grains of 80 cultivars of barley, rice, and wheat. FA content ranged 1.66-2.77 mg/g in barley (n=20), 0.56-1.53 mg/g in wheat (n=40), and 0.91-2.13 mg/g in rice (n=20). Among these, 7 cultivars each of barley and wheat with different FA content were tested for head blight and mycotoxin production by 2 Fusarium graminearum and 2 F. asiaticum strains. Mean pathogenicity of the wheat cultivars was significantly less than that of barley with higher FA and among wheat cultivars, there was no correlation between FA content and pathogenicity. Mycotoxin production was also lower in the wheat than in the barley as pathogenicity. However, pathogenicity and toxins produced by F. asiaticum were negatively correlated with FA content in barley. These results indicate that FA is not a resistance factor to head blight by F. asiaticum and F. graminearum or its mycotoxin production in barley and wheat.