Dissecting symptomatology and fumonisin contamination produced by Fusarium verticillioides in maize ears (original) (raw)

Phytopathology, 2018

Abstract

The fungus Fusarium verticillioides can infect maize ears, contaminating the grain with mycotoxins, including fumonisins. This global public health threat can be managed by breeding maize varieties that are resistant to colonization by F. verticillioides and by sorting grain after harvest to reduce fumonisin levels in food systems. Here we employed two F. verticillioides inoculation techniques representing distinct infection pathways to dissect ear symptomatology and morphological resistance mechanisms in a diverse panel of maize inbred lines. The "point" method involved penetrating the ear with a spore-coated toothpick, and the "inundative" method introduced a liquid spore suspension under the husk of the ear. We evaluated quantitative and qualitative indicators of external and internal symptom severity as low-cost proxies for fumonisin contamination, and found that kernel bulk density was predictive of fumonisin levels (78-84% sensitivity; 97-99% specificity). ...

Rebecca Nelson hasn't uploaded this paper.

Let Rebecca know you want this paper to be uploaded.

Ask for this paper to be uploaded.