Mycotoxins In Wheat Grain Research Articles

Natural co-occurrence of mycotoxins in wheat grains from Italy and Syria

This article describes the application of an analytical method for the detection of 25 mycotoxins in wheat grain based on simultaneous extraction using matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) followed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry, a hybrid triple quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometer (QTrap®). Information Dependent Acquisition (IDA), an extra confirmation tool for samples that contain the target mycotoxins, was used. The analysis of 40 Syrian and 46 Italian wheat grain samples interestingly showed that Syrian samples were mainly contaminated with ochratoxin A and aflatoxins, whereas Italian samples with deoxynivalenol and 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol. Emerging Fusarium mycotoxins were predominant in Italian samples compared to the Syrian. Among the analysed samples, only one was found containing zeralenone with level above the maximum European recommended concentration (100ppb). These results confirm that climatic differences between Syria and Italy, both in Mediterranean basin, play a key role in the diversity of fungal genera and mycotoxins in wheat grains.

Fusarium species and their mycotoxins in wheat grain

Incidence of fungi and concentration of mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZON) and fumonisin (FB1) were studied in the grain of the winter wheat collected subsequently after harvesting in 2010. In the analyzed samples the highest incidence was determined for the species of Fusarium (84.7%) genus, significantly lower incidence was determined for the species of genus Alternaria (12.35%), and especially for species of genera Acremoniella (2.05%), Acremonium (0.65%) and Penicillium (0.25%). F. graminearum (99.05%) was the most present species of Fusarium genus, whereas the following species F. sporotrichioides (0.4%), F. subglutinans (0.4%), F. poae (0.05%), F. proliferatum (0.05%) and F. verticillioides (0.05%) were only sporadic. The presence of DON, ZON and FB1 mycotoxins was established in all studied wheat samples. DON was detected in concentrations from 123 to 393 ?g kg-1 (average 214 ?g kg-1), ZON from 157.144 to 471.055 ?g kg-1 (average 299.934 ?g kg-1), and FB1 from 2.715 to 16.488 ?g kg-1 (average 6.286 ?g kg-1).

Effects of cultivar, agronomic practices, geographic location, and meteorological conditions on the composition of selected Fusarium species on wheat heads

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) heads showing typical fusarium head blight symptoms were sampled two to four weeks after anthesis in 2004, 2005, and 2006. Samples (n = 916) were taken from the susceptible wheat cultivar 'Ritmo' and the moderately susceptible 'Buteo' and 'Dekan', from fungicide-free control plots at 6 to 13 locations per year between the North and Baltic seas. The presence of four Fusarium species (Gibberella zeae, Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium poae, and Fusarium avenaceum) in these samples was surveyed using (i) genus and (ii) species-specific primers in PCR assays. Higher frequencies of G. zeae and F. avenaceum were observed in 'Ritmo' compared with 'Buteo', and lower frequencies of F. culmorum were observed in 'Dekan' compared with 'Buteo'. Tillage (ploughing vs. other tillage methods) and previous crops (wheat vs. dicotyledonous crops) had no significant effect on the Fusarium species composition ('Ritmo', P ≥ 0.07). Average leaf wetness between May and the middle of July, as well as during the 10 days flanking the approximate date of anthesis, was positively correlated to relative frequencies of G. zeae (R > 0.44, P ≤ 0.04), but negatively correlated to relative detection frequencies of F. culmorum (R < –0.47, P ≤ 0.02). Temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity during the same periods of time did not influence the detection frequencies observed for any of the species. Overall, the most frequently detected species was G. zeae (41%), with decreasing relative frequencies from the southeast to the northwest of the area surveyed. Fusarium poae, F. culmorum, and F. avenaceum were detected in 12%, 9%, and 13% of the samples, respectively. The presence of one, two, three, or four species co-inhabiting wheat heads was encountered at frequencies of 57%, 19%, 2%, and 0%, respectively. Gibberella zeae and F. culmorum were mainly detected alone, whereas F. poae and F. avenaceum were mainly detected in combination with other species. Relative frequencies of PCR amplicons specific for the genus Fusarium were positively correlated to the deoxynivalenol (DON) content of the grain (R = 0.685, P ≤ 0.0001). The correlation between the percent of samples containing F. poae and the DON content was negative (R = –0.45, P = 0.036). The results of this study indicate that tillage and previous crop may affect the severity of Fusarium epidemics, but they do not change the species composition significantly. In contrast, wheat genotype and leaf wetness affected the spectrum of Fusarium species on wheat heads in a selective manner, and, hence, these factors might also be expected to have an impact on the spectrum of mycotoxins in wheat grain.

Contamination Levels of Fusarium Mycotoxins in Wheat Grains in Gunma and Ibaraki Prefectures and the Control of Their Contamination by a Fungicide Application

Contamination Levels of Fusarium Mycotoxins in Wheat Grains in Gunma and Ibaraki Prefectures and the Control of Their Contamination by a Fungicide Application