Natural incidence ofFusariumspecies and fumonisins B₁and B₂associated with maize kernels from nine provinces in China in 2012

Abstract

Fusarium species, which can produce mycotoxins, are the predominant pathogens causing maize ear rot, a disease that results in severe economic losses and serves as a potential health risk for humans and animals. A survey was conducted in 2012 to investigate the contamination of maize by Fusarium species and fumonisins B1 and B2. A total of 250 maize samples were randomly collected from nine provinces (Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Ningxia) in China. Fusarium species were isolated and identified using morphological (electron microscope) and molecular methods (polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing). Fumonisins B1 and B2 were analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) with OPA (2-Mercaptoethanol, o-phthaldialdehyde) post-column derivatisation. A total of 2321 Fusarium isolates (20.7%) were obtained from all the samples. These isolates included nine Fusarium species, namely, F. graminearum, F. verticillioides, F. subglutinans, F. proliferatum, F. temperatum, F. oxysporum, F. equiseti, F. meridionale and F. chlamydosporum. The incidence of occurrence of Fusarium species in Guizhou was the highest, while in Inner Mongolia it was the lowest. F. verticillioides was the dominant species of maize ear rot in Liaoning, Sichuan, Hebei and Ningxia. F. graminearum was the dominant species in Yunnan, Guizhou and Shanxi. F. subglutinans was the dominant species in Heilongjiang. F. verticillioides and F. graminearum percentages were the same in Inner Mongolia. The incidence of fumonisins in Liaoning was high (up to 81.0%) and in Heilongjiang low (up to 10.3%). Except Shanxi, more than 50% of maize samples from other provinces were contaminated with fumonisins, with concentrations less than 500 ng g(-1). About 33% of maize samples from Yunnan were contaminated with high levels of fumonisins, and average of fumonisin levels were 5191 ng g(-1). Fusarium species causing maize ear rot in different areas in China were highly diverse and such areas with exposure to high levels of fumonisin contamination have a potential health risk for human and animals.

Crops are a main driver for species diversity and the toxigenic potential ofFusarium isolates in maize ears in China

“…In both studies F. verticillioides and F. graminearum were the predominant species. However, we also found F. proliferatum (19.24%) and F. subglutinans (15.95%) to be frequently associated with FER, which occurred only sporadically on seemingly healthy maize ears (Fu et al, 2015). F. boothii -absent in Fu's study done in 2012 -was isolated in three provinces with an overall proportion of 9.62%.…”

“…Recently, it was reported in many countries, including Spain (Varela et al, 2013), Poland (Czembor et al, 2014), Argentina (Fumero et al, 2015), and Korea (Shin et al, 2014). In China, F. temperatum was first reported in Guizhou and Hubei Province (Wang et al, 2014), and even more recent in Sichuan and Yunnan (Fu et al, 2015). These are all mountain regions with a warm climate.…”

“…There have been a few reports focusing on particular regions in China (Ndoye et al, 2012;Qiu et al, 2015;Zhang et al, 2013b). Recently, Fu et al (2015) investigated the Fusarium species associated with maize kernels from nine provinces in China based on a large collection (n=2,321). Their study focused on the natural occurrence of Fusarium on maize including non-pathogenic species and latent infections with Fusarium.…”

Fusariumspecies identification and fumonisin production in maize kernels from Shandong Province, China, from 2012 to 2014

“…In 2008, F. verticillioides was the predominant species in north-west Africa, whereas F. graminearum instead of F. verticillioides became the dominant species in 2009 (Boutigny et al 2012). In China, Fu et al (2015) collected 250 maize samples from nine provinces and isolated nine Fusarium spp. The highest and lowest incidence of Fusarium spp.…”

Fumonisins: oxidative stress-mediated toxicity and metabolism in vivo and in vitro

“…In Shandong Province of China in 2014, the incidences of FB 1 , FB 2 and FB 3 in the corn products were 98.1 %, and the simultaneous occurrence of FB 1 , FB 2 and FB 3 was observed in 76.7 % of the corn products (Li et al 2015a). The incidence of FBs in nine provinces of China was reported to be from 81.0 to 10.3 % in maize samples in 2012 (Fu et al 2015). A recent study revealed that FB 2 was also detected in 37.5 % of the onion samples from the Taif region in Saudi Arabia (Gherbawy et al 2015).…”