Análise da incidência de Fusarium spp. toxigênico e de níveis de fumonisinas em grãos ardidos de milho híbrido / Incidence of toxigenic Fusarium spp. and levels of fumonisins in hybrid maize rot grains

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2009

RESUMO

Maize is a cereal widely cultivated in Brazil and worldwide. Its productivity can be affected by numerous factors including fungal colonization. In pathological terms, affected grains by fungi are denominated rot grains and the two most prevalent genera found in maize are Stenocarpella and Fusarium. Species of Fusarium can cause rotting in the stalks and also produce fumonisins, which are toxic both for animals and humans since their occurrence is associated to many diseases. The present work aimed to analyse the incidence of Fusarium ssp. with toxigenic potential in rot grains samples through the identification of the presence of the gene fum5, responsible for the production of fumonisins, as well as to quantify the levels of fumonisins found in these samples and compare with the results obtained in asymptomatic grains. A total of 100 samples from the 2006 and 2007 harvests were collected from the main producing regions of Brazil and were submitted to three analyses. The first evaluated the incidence of Fusarium ssp. in the grains through the method of filter paper and freezing, which revealed incidences that varied from 34 to 91%. The second analysis used specific primers and PCR to confirm the genus and species (F. verticillioides, F. proliferatum and F. subglutinans) and to detect the presence of the fum5 gene. The results indicated that 93% of the isolates belonged to the genus Fusarium. The PCR - negative isolates were confirmed as Fusarium after morphological analysis. Eigthy two percent of the isolates were classified as F. verticillioides, 3% as F. subglutinans and none as F. proliferatum using speciesspecific PCR. The fum5 gene was detected in eighty one percent of the isolates. The third analysis consisted in the quantification of the fumonisins (B1, B2 e B3 in the proportion of 5:3:1) through the ELISA method and the levels varied from 4,4 to more than 90 µg/g. Asymptomatic grains from the second cropping season of 2007 were analyzed separately for comparison purposes. The incidence of Fusarium spp. in these varied from 74 to 87%. The PCR for confirmation of the genus was positive for 87% of the isolates. The PCRs for species identification showed 60% of the isolated as being F. verticillioides, 3% as F. subglutinans and none as F. proliferatum. The greater concentration of fumonisins in the asymptomatic grains was of 2,1 µg/g and in 53% of the samples fumonisins were not detected. Rot and asymptomatic grains presented Fusarium spp. with toxigenic potential but the levels of fumonisins found in the asymptomatic grains were much lower compared with rot grains, showing that, in adverse conditions, this fungus changes from endophytic to pathogenic, being able to parasitize the plant and to produce toxins. The fact that fumonisins levels are much higher in rot grains, a simple measure to reduce the levels of these toxins in the animal diet would be to eliminate them during processing.

ASSUNTO(S)

mycotoxins seeds - pathology. maize micotoxinas fusarium semente - patologia. elisa fusarium polymerase chain reaction reação em cadeia por polimerase elisa milho

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

Documentos Relacionados