An extract of Myrothecium verrucaria, a fungus which produces a range of 12,13-epoxytrichothecene toxins, was found to be resistant to T-2 toxin, one of its products. The epoxytrichothecenes are inhibitors of eukaryotic protein synthesis and normally bind to the 60S ribosomal subunit so as to inhibit peptidyltransferase activity. Ribosomes from M. verrucaria contain 60S subunits which are not s...

We constructed a genetic linkage map of Gibberella zeae (Fusarium graminearum) by crossing complementary nitrate-nonutilizing (nit) mutants of G. zeae strains R-5470 (from Japan) and Z-3639 (from Kansas). We selected 99 nitrate-utilizing (recombinant) progeny and analyzed them for amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs). We used 34 pairs of two-base selective AFLP primers and identified...

A model of the trichodiene synthase (TRI5) of the wheat fungal pathogen and type-B trichothecene producer Fusarium culmorum was developed based on homology modelling with the crystallized protein of F. sporotrichioides. Eight phenolic molecules, namely ferulic acid 1, apocynin 2, propyl gallate 3, eugenol 4, Me-dehydrozingerone 5, eugenol dimer 6, magnolol 7, and ellagic acid 8, were selected f...

Rehmannia glutinosa is an important medicinal herb that cannot be replanted in the same field due to the effects of autotoxic substances. The effects of these substances on R. glutinosa in continuous cropping systems are unknown. In the present study, bioassays revealed that R. glutinosa exhibited severe growth restriction and higher disease indices in the FO+FA (F.oxysporum pretreated with fer...

Hundred Fusarium culmorum strains, isolated from freshly harvested maize grain samples from Southern parts of India, were incubated in czapek-dox medium and analyzed for trichothecene (DON/NIV) production. The mPCR assay was standardized targeting trichothecene metabolic pathway genes viz., Tri6, Tri7, Tri13 for detection of trichothecene (DON/NIV) chemotypes and rDNA gene for specific detectio...

Nivalenol (NIV) and deoxynivalenol (DON) are predominant Fusarium-producing mycotoxins found in grains, which are mainly produced by Fusarium asiaticum and F. graminearum. NIV is found in most of cereals grown in Korea, but the genetic basis for NIV production by F. asiaticum has not been extensively explored. In this study, 12 genes belonging to the trichothecene biosynthetic gene cluster were...

Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused primarily by Fusarium graminearum, has been the most destructive disease of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in the USA since the early 1990s, resulting in large economic losses for growers. The fungus produces the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON), a protein synthesis inhibitor, which is harmful to humans and livestock. Chemically modifying DON could reduce DON accum...

Fusarium trichothecenes are fungal toxins that cause disease on infected plants and, more importantly, health problems for humans and animals that consume infected fruits or vegetables. Unfortunately, there are few methods for controlling mycotoxin production by fungal pathogens. In this study, we isolated and characterized sixteen Fusarium strains from naturally infected potato plants in the f...

A selective and speedy LC-MS/MS method was developed to determine six trichothecene mycotoxins (nivalenol, deoxynivalenol, fusarenon X, 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol, 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol, and T-2 toxin) in rice medium where Fusarium graminearum were cultivated for in vitro tests. The analytes were extracted from the rice medium with acetonitrile/water (85/15, v/v), and diluted with acetonitrile/wa...

The fungal plant pathogen, Myrothecium verrucaria, is highly virulent to several important weed species and has potential utility as a bioherbicide. However the production of macrocyclic trichothecene mycotoxins by this fungus presents significant safety concerns. It was discovered that trichothecenes are removed from M. verrucaria spores by repeated washes with water. These washed spores retai...