Fusarium verticillioides (Sacc.) Nirenberg (Fv) causes rots in maize around the world and produces mycotoxins that contaminate grains, making this species a significant health concern for both animals and humans. One of the best approaches to address rots is to identify highly tolerant or resistant genotypes that can be used for genetic improvement. The aim of the study was to evaluate dose-response assays to tolerance or resistance for Fv rots throughout the maize life cycle. These tests assessed the effects of Fv during post-germination development and the seedling (V2) stage by seed infection, the plantlet (V4) stage by substrate infection, and in the reproductive phase in maize stalks (R2 stage) and ears (R6 stage) by R1 stage inoculation. In all assays, the doses were effective at distinguishing contrasting phenotypes. Severity, root fresh weight, and aerial length were the most informative parameters at the V2 and V4 stages. Evaluation of the stalk necrosis area between and within the internodes of susceptible genotypes revealed significant differences among doses, and a positive correlation between necrosis and conidia concentration was observed in internodes. Injecting eight million conidia in the ear was sufficient for selecting different phenotypes. A total of 85% of the genotypes conserved their same capacity to respond to Fv infection throughout the maize life cycle, so that screening at the early vegetative stage (e.g., V2) could be useful for distinguishing contrasting phenotypes in the reproductive stage. Implementing these screening assays in a maize breeding program could be valuable for classifying the degrees of resilience of maize germplasms to Fv rots. This global screening has the potential to be employed to select against other Fusarium species.

Mycotoxins from the Fusarium genus are widely known to cause economic losses in crops, as well as high mortalities rates among immunocompromised humans. However, to date, no correlation has been established for the ability of Fusarium to cause cross-kingdom infection between plants and humans. The present investigation aims to fill this gap in the literature by examining cross-kingdom infection caused by Furasium strains isolated from non-immunocompromised or non-immunosuppressed humans, which were subsequently reinfected in plants and on human tissue. The findings document for the first time cross-kingdom infective events in Fusarium species, thus enhancing our existing knowledge of how mycopathogens continue to thrive in different hosts.

El mejoramiento de plantas mediante la inserción de un fragmento de ADN usando ingeniería genética representa una oportunidad para desarrollar cultivares o variedades con características económicamente deseables, como conferir ventajas adaptativas al medio ambiente, mejores propiedades nutrimentales y disminución del uso de agroquímicos. Dada la polémica alrededor de este tipo de tecnologías la justificación de su desarrollo y uso dependerá del entorno sociocultural y deberá ser estudiado caso por caso. El presente documento tiene el objetivo de plantear un panorama de los Organismos Genéticamente Modificados (OGM), sus ventajas y desventajas, y establecer el porqué constituyen una oportunidad para desarrollar cultivares con características que por métodos tradicionales no podrían obtenerse.