Incidence of Fusarium species and levels of fumonisin B1 in corn in the Samsun province of Turkey

The contamination of corn with fumonisin produced by Fusarium species represents an important risk for humans and animals. The incidence of Fusarium spp. and contamination by fumonisin B1 (FB1) were studied in field samples from 70 fields of corn during the 2005 and 2006 preharvest seasons in the province of Samsun, Turkey. Fusarium was the predominant genus isolated from the field samples, with F. verticillioides, F. proliferatum and F. subglutinans being the most commonly isolated species. The occurrence of Fusarium spp. varied each year, from 97.14% to 78.57% in 2005 and 2006, respectively. The widespread occurrence of FB1 was also observed across the Samsun province. All corn samples infected with F. verticillioides, F. proliferatum and F. subglutinans tested positive for FB1, but none were infected with FB2. Levels of FB1 ranged from 0.28 to 8.48 mg kg-1 in 2005 and from 0.11 to 2.77 mg kg-1 in 2006. The concentration of FB1 was lower than 2 mg kg-1 in 63.6% of the samples, 28.8% contained from 2 mg kg-1 to 5 mg kg-1, while 7.6% contained more than 5 mg kg-1. Our study shows that corn contamination with both Fusarium and FB1 was present throughout the Samsun province, but it was strongly dependent on environmental and seasonal conditions. However, there was no Fusarium contamination in certain native white-type and popcorn-type cultivars in 2005 and 2006.La contamination du maïs par la fumonisine produite par des espèces de Fusarium présente un risque important pour les humains et les animaux. L’incidence des espèces de Fusarium et la contamination par la fumonisine B1 (FB1) ont été étudiées durant la saison précédant la récolte en 2005 et 2006 dans des échantillons provenant de 70 champs de maïs de la province de Samsun, en Turquie. Fusarium était le genre prédominant dans les échantillons de champ, F. verticillioides, F. proliferatum et F. subglutinans étant les espèces les plus communément isolées. La présence d’espèces de Fusarium variait d’une année à l’autre, passant de 97,14 % à 78,57 % en 2005 et 2006, respectivement. La présence très répandue de FB1 a également été observée dans la province de Samsun. Tous les échantillons de maïs infectés par F. verticillioides, F. proliferatum et F. subglutinans étaient contaminés par la FB1, mais aucun n’était contaminé par la FB2. Le niveau d’infection par la FB1 variait entre 0,28 et 8,48 mg kg-1 en 2005 et entre 0,11 et 2,77 mg kg-1 en 2006. La concentration de FB1 était inférieure à 2 mg kg-1 dans 63,6 % des échantillons, 28,8 % en contenait de 2 mg kg-1 à 5 mg kg-1, alors que 7,6 % en contenait plus de 5 mg kg-1. Notre étude montre que la contamination du maïs par le Fusarium et la FB1 est répandue à travers la province de Samsun, mais qu’elle dépend fortement des conditions environnementales et saisonnières. Toutefois, certains cultivars indigènes de types blanc et popcorn n’étaient pas contaminés par le Fusarium en 2005 et 2006

Genetic diversity and mating types of Fusarium culmorum and Fusarium graminearum originating from different agro-ecological regions in Turkey

Fusarium culmorum and F. graminearum are the major pathogens for dryland root/foot-rot and head-blight diseases in economically important grain crops. This study was aimed at the molecular characterization of Fusarium spp. isolates, which have been collected from cereal fields in three agro-ecological regions in Turkey. Genetic diversity has been analyzed by generating RFLP markers from the intergenic spacer (IGS) region of ribosomal RNA. The selection of restriction enzymes for IGS-RFLP studies has been found critical to maximize polymorphic markers. Only 3 of 14 restriction endonucleases were useful in differentiating Fusarium spp. isolates. PstI was the most efficient enzyme to produce a maximum of nine DNA markers in one individual and total 22 polymorphic representative banding patterns. Polymorphism based on IGS-RFLP was high and average 88% in both species. There was no association between IGS diversity and geographic locations from which the samples were taken. Both MAT-1 and MAT-2 sequences were amplified in F. graminearum similarly to previous reports. Most of the F. culmorum isolates carried either MAT-1 or MAT-2 sequences, and differently two isolates carried both sequences. Mating type determination was helpful to distinguish F. pseudograminearum from F. graminearum, which cannot be discriminated by SCAR markers or morphological assessment. High genetic diversity by IGS-RFLP markers in F. culmorum was discussed in relation to its fitness as the most common pathogen in dryland root rot complex (DLRRC)

Analysis of early events in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) roots in response to Fusarium culmorum infection

Fusarium culmorum is able to cause devastating crown rot disease, particularly in barley and wheat worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the early physiological and molecular changes in barley roots in response to F. culmorum infection. Therefore, we have infected 3-day old barley roots with a highly pathogenic F. culmorum isolate (F16). The root length and shoot length were significantly reduced at 7 days after infection in six widely cultivated Turkish barley cultivars. Based on the disease index values, MartA +/- (six-rowed) and Tokak 157/37 (two-rowed) were selected. Defense response was comparatively assessed with measures including H2O2 production and induction of stress-induced genes at six-time points after infection (0-96 h). Fungal infection did not affect the membrane integrity of root cells while osmolality decreased and H2O2 production increased. At the molecular level, antioxidant-related genes, HvCu/ZnSOD, HvGST6, HvAPX and HvBAS1 were constitutively and strongly expressed unlikely to HvCAT2 in which transcript accumulation was slightly detected upon infection. Differential expression of HvMT2, HvLOX1 and HvWRKY12 has been observed following the infection. Importantly, pathogenesis related (PR) genes HvPR1, HvPR3, HvPR4, HvPR5 and HvPR10 were induced at different time points of infection. The transcript accumulation of HvPR4 was the highest while HvPR10 expressed in minimal levels. Our results showed unexpected cellular responses such as disruption of osmotic adjustment in barley roots and the role of PR genes in initial response under F. culmorum attack

Use of Rep-PCR for Genetic Diversity Analyses in Fusarium culmorum

Fusarium culmorum is a pathogen of economically important grain crops. In this work, Rep-PCR was used to identify genetic diversity in F. culmorum isolates which have been collected from wheat fields in Turkey. Reproducible genomic fingerprints were amplified in each strain by PCRs of prokaryotic repetitive extragenic palindromic (REP), enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) and BOX sequences. Totally 104 molecular markers were evaluated and similarity comparisons were shown as a dendrogram. The average genetic diversity was 52.3% ranging from 15.8% to 88.7% according to the Rep-PCR data. Cluster analysis showed agreement with the distance of sampling locations. The highest genetic similarity (84.2%) was determined between two F. culmorum isolates (F1 and F2) originated from the same agro-ecological region. Our results showed that Rep-PCR is convenient and rapid for genetic diversity analyses and strain differentiation in F. culmorum

Characterization of root rot disease of kiwifruit in the Black Sea region of Turkey

[EN] Forty-two kiwifruit orchards from Rize and Samsun provinces (Black Sea region, Turkey) exhibiting symptoms of root rot disease were examined between 2009 and 2010. Twenty-four fungal isolates recovered from affected roots were included in this study. Morphological characteristics of all isolates were recorded on potato dextrose agar, malt extract agar and Spezieller Nahrstoffarmer agar. The effect of temperature on radial colony growth was also evaluated at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 A degrees C. Histone H3 gene (HIS) was amplified with primers CYLH3F and CYLH3R and the amplified fragments were sequenced. The HIS phylogeny grouped all the isolates into six well-supported clades which were in agreement with phenotypical characteristics. Isolates were identified as "Cylindrocarpon" pauciseptatum, Cylindrocladiella parva, Ilyonectria liriodendri, I. torresensis, I. robusta and I. europaea, I. liriodendri being the most frequent species. 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Disappearance of Biodiversity and Future of Our Foods

“I. Uluslararası Organik Tarım ve Biyoçeşitlilik Sempozyumu 27-29 Eylül Bayburt