103(3)_str36

ISSN 1392-3196 / e-ISSN 2335-8947
Zemdirbyste-Agriculture, vol. 103, No. 3 (2016), p. 281–288
DOI  10.13080/z-a.2016.103.036

Distribution of B type trichothecene producing Fusarium species in wheat grain and relation to mycotoxins DON and NIV concentrations

Skaidrė SUPRONIENĖ, Simonas SAKALAUSKAS, Audronė MANKEVIČIENĖ,
Karolina BARČAUSKAITĖ, Akvilė JONAVIČIENĖ

Abstract

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the most important cereal diseases causing yield losses and reducing its quality. B type trichothecenes (TRI) deoxynivalenol (DON) and nivalenol (NIV) are the main mycotoxins associated with FHB of wheat and other small-grain cereals. Usually, a particular Fusarium strain is able to produce only one type of B trichothecene. The detection of gene for NIV, DON and its acetylated derivatives 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3ADON) or 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15ADON) production is used for detection of FHB pathogens in plant material and their chemotyping.

The current study presents the distribution of DON and NIV mycotoxins and their potential producers in Lithuanian wheat grain grown in 2013 and 2014. Grain samples of spring wheat (114) and winter wheat (30) were collected from 49 farms situated in 12 administrative districts of Lithuania. Fusarium species were identified and quantified by the morphological and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) techniques. DON concentrations were estimated by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in all collected grain samples and NIV using ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS) in 17 arbitrarily selected samples. F. graminearum, F. culmorum and F. poae were identified as species capable of producing mycotoxins DON and NIV in wheat grain. The highest DON quantities were identified in the grain of spring wheat grown in 2013 and this was clearly linked to F. graminearum DNA quantities (r = 0.783, p < 0.01). F. poae stood out as a potential NIV producer in the grain of Lithuania-grown wheat, since a positive correlation (r = 0.62, p < 0.01) between the quantities of F. poae DNA and NIV concentrations was established. F. culmorum was detected in unexpectedly small quantities in wheat grain and was found to be the potential producer of DON, but not NIV.

Key words: chemotype, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium poae, qPCR, UPLC/MS.

Full text: 103_3_str36.pdf