First report on the detection of fumonisin biosynthetic (FUM1) gene in Fusarium verticillioides and F. proliferatum associated with sugarcane diseases

Abstract

Several Fusarium verticillioides and F. proliferatum strains produce fumonisin, a mycotoxin that negatively affects animals and humans. These two Fusarium species also cause Pokkah boeng and are associated with red rot-like disease, two important sugarcane diseases. In this study, we determined the presence of FUM1, a gene that is required for fumonisin biosynthesis, in 21 isolates of plant pathogenic Fusarium species associated with sugarcane Pokkah boeng and the red rot-like disease. Out of the 21 Fusarium isolates, four F. proliferatum and one F. verticillioides isolates conferred the FUM1 gene as detected by repeated polymerase chain reaction assay. The result indicates that pathogenicity and fumonisin biosynthesis are likely two separate events as other isolates, which did not confer the FUM1 gene, still induced Pokkah boeng and red rot. This study reports, for the first time, the occurrence of fumonisin-producing F. verticillioides and F. proliferatum that cause Pokkah boeng and red rot-like disease in sugarcane.