Rhamnolipid Biosurfactant against Fusarium verticillioides to Control Stalk and Ear Rot Disease of Maize

Fusarium verticillioides infects maize ears, causing ear rot disease and contamination of grain with fumonisin mycotoxins. This contamination can be reduced by the presence of bioactive compounds in kernels that are able to inhibit fumonisin biosynthesis. To identify such compounds, we used kernels from a maize genotype with moderate susceptibility to F. verticillioides, harvested at the milk-dough stage (i.e., when fumonisin production initiates in planta), and applied a bioguided fractionation approach. Chlorogenic acid was the most abundant compound in the purified active fraction and its contribution to fumonisin inhibitory activity was up to 70%. Moreover, using a set of maize genotypes with different levels of susceptibility, chlorogenic acid was shown to be significantly higher in immature kernels of the moderately susceptible group. Altogether, our data indicate that chlorogenic acid may considerably contribute to either maize resistance to Fusarium ear rot, fumonisin accumulation, or both. We further investigated the mechanisms involved in the inhibition of fumonisin production by chlorogenic acid and one of its hydrolyzed products, caffeic acid, by following their metabolic fate in supplemented F. verticillioides broths. Our data indicate that F. verticillioides was able to biotransform these phenolic compounds and that the resulting products can contribute to their inhibitory activity.

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EXPLORATION AND SCREENING FOR ENDOPHYTIC MICROBES OF MAIZE PLANT ROOT AGAINST FUSARIUM VERTICILLIOIDES

JURNAL HAMA DAN PENYAKIT TUMBUHAN TROPIKA ◽

10.23960/j.hptt.11857-64 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 57

Author(s):

Rahmat Jahuddin ◽

Jamila . ◽

Awaluddin . ◽

Suriani .

Keyword(s):

Plant Root ◽

Fusarium Verticillioides ◽

Culture Method ◽

Maize Plant ◽

Dual Culture ◽

Ear Rot ◽

Sprout Length ◽

Maize Roots ◽

Stimulate Plant Growth ◽

Rot Disease

Exploration and Screening for Endophytic Microbes of Maize Plant Root against Fusarium verticillioides. Fusarium verticilloides is an important pathogen of maize which can attack cob and stem causing ear rot and stalk rot disease. Fusarium ear rot disease needs to get a serious attention because the mycotoxins produced by this pathogen very harmful for consumers. The aim of this study was to screen maize roots endophytic microbes as antagonist to F. verticilloides. Endophytes microbial exploration is done by taking samples of local roots of South Sulawesi and hybrid maizes in Soppeng Regency then isolated in Biological Laboratory of Islamic University of Makassar. The endophytes were then tested their effectiveness on inhibiting growth of mycelia pathogenic F. verticilloides by using dual culture method and tested the suppressing ability of F. verticilloides on maize seed and their influence on seed sprout length. The results showed that there were 8 endophytic microbes consisting of 4 isolates of the fungus group namely HS-01, HS-02, HS-04, LS-01 and 4 isolates from bacterial group namely HS-03, LS-02, LS-03, LS-04. While the results of microbial effectiveness testing on pathogenic F. verticilloides showed that HS-04 has the highest percentage of inhibition followed by isolate HS-01, HS-02 and LS-02. HS-04 isolate also showed the ability to suppress F. verticilloides attacks on corn seeds at 77.78%. The highest seed sprout length was shown in LS-02 isolate application about 10.57 cm. Thus it can be concluded that there were 3 potentially endophytic microbes to control the F. verticilloides namely HS-04, HS-01 and LS-02. The ability to stimulate plant growth became one of considerations to select these three microbes.

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Seed Dressing with Aqueous Allium sativum L. Extracts Enhanced the Tolerance of Maize Plant to Stalk and Ear Rot Disease Caused by Fusarium verticillioides (Sacc.) Nirenberg

Canadian Journal of Agriculture and Crops ◽

10.20448/803.5.2.160.173 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 160-173

Author(s):

Ayodele M. Ajayi

Keyword(s):

Allium Sativum ◽

Fusarium Verticillioides ◽

Maize Plant ◽

Ear Rot ◽

Seed Dressing ◽

Rot Disease

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The Effect of Fusarium verticillioides Fumonisins on Fatty Acids, Sphingolipids, and Oxylipins in Maize Germlings

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22052435 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (5) ◽

pp. 2435

Author(s):

Marzia Beccaccioli ◽

Manuel Salustri ◽

Valeria Scala ◽

Matteo Ludovici ◽

Andrea Cacciotti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acids ◽

Fusarium Verticillioides ◽

Fungal Growth ◽

Defense Responses ◽

Ceramide Synthase ◽

Ear Rot ◽

In Planta ◽

Disease Symptoms ◽

The Impact

Fusarium verticillioides causes multiple diseases of Zea mays (maize) including ear and seedling rots, contaminates seeds and seed products worldwide with toxic chemicals called fumonisins. The role of fumonisins in disease is unclear because, although they are not required for ear rot, they are required for seedling diseases. Disease symptoms may be due to the ability of fumonisins to inhibit ceramide synthase activity, the expected cause of lipids (fatty acids, oxylipins, and sphingolipids) alteration in infected plants. In this study, we explored the impact of fumonisins on fatty acid, oxylipin, and sphingolipid levels in planta and how these changes affect F. verticillioides growth in maize. The identity and levels of principal fatty acids, oxylipins, and over 50 sphingolipids were evaluated by chromatography followed by mass spectrometry in maize infected with an F. verticillioides fumonisin-producing wild-type strain and a fumonisin-deficient mutant, after different periods of growth. Plant hormones associated with defense responses, i.e., salicylic and jasmonic acid, were also evaluated. We suggest that fumonisins produced by F. verticillioides alter maize lipid metabolism, which help switch fungal growth from a relatively harmless endophyte to a destructive necrotroph.

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Molecular Insights into Defense Responses of Vietnamese Maize Varieties to Fusarium verticillioides Isolates

Journal of Fungi ◽

10.3390/jof7090724 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (9) ◽

pp. 724

Author(s):

Trang Minh Tran ◽

Maarten Ameye ◽

Sofie Landschoot ◽

Frank Devlieghere ◽

Sarah De Saeger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Expression Profiles ◽

Fusarium Verticillioides ◽

Gene Expression Profiles ◽

Defense Responses ◽

Ear Rot ◽

In Planta ◽

Resistant Lines ◽

Maize Varieties ◽

Pathogenesis Related ◽

Related Proteins

Fusarium ear rot (FER) caused by Fusarium verticillioides is one of the main fungal diseases in maize worldwide. To develop a pathogen-tailored FER resistant maize line for local implementation, insights into the virulence variability of a residing F. verticillioides population are crucial for developing customized maize varieties, but remain unexplored. Moreover, little information is currently available on the involvement of the archetypal defense pathways in the F. verticillioides–maize interaction using local isolates and germplasm, respectively. Therefore, this study aims to fill these knowledge gaps. We used a collection of 12 F. verticillioides isolates randomly gathered from diseased maize fields in the Vietnamese central highlands. To assess the plant’s defense responses against the pathogens, two of the most important maize hybrid genotypes grown in this agro-ecological zone, lines CP888 and Bt/GT NK7328, were used. Based on two assays, a germination and an in-planta assay, we found that line CP888 was more susceptible to the F. verticillioides isolates when compared to line Bt/GT NK7328. Using the most aggressive isolate, we monitored disease severity and gene expression profiles related to biosynthesis pathways of salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), abscisic acid (ABA), benzoxazinoids (BXs), and pathogenesis-related proteins (PRs). As a result, a stronger induction of SA, JA, ABA, BXs, and PRs synthesizing genes might be linked to the higher resistance of line Bt/GT NK7328 compared to the susceptible line CP888. All these findings could supply valuable knowledge in the selection of suitable FER resistant lines against the local F. verticllioides population and in the development of new FER resistant germplasms.

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Differences in Ear Rot Resistance and Fusarium verticillioides-Produced Fumonisin Contamination Between Polish Currently and Historically Used Maize Inbred Lines

Frontiers in Microbiology ◽

10.3389/fmicb.2019.00449 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Elżbieta Czembor ◽

Agnieszka Waśkiewicz ◽

Urszula Piechota ◽

Marta Puchta ◽

Jerzy H. Czembor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Verticillioides ◽

Inbred Lines ◽

Ear Rot ◽

Maize Inbred Lines

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Transcriptomic Analysis of a Susceptible African Maize Line to Fusarium verticillioides Infection

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants9091112 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 1112

Author(s):

Humaira Lambarey ◽

Naadirah Moola ◽

Amy Veenstra ◽

Shane Murray ◽

Mohamed Suhail Rafudeen

Keyword(s):

Zea Mays ◽

Fusarium Verticillioides ◽

Morphological Characteristics ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Chemical Stimulus ◽

Post Inoculation ◽

Rna Seq ◽

Ear Rot ◽

Maize Line ◽

Sub Saharan

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a staple crop providing food security to millions of people in sub Saharan Africa. Fusarium verticillioides, an important fungal pathogen, infects maize causing ‘Fusarium Ear Rot’ disease, which decreases maize kernel yield and the quality of the crop harvested. Currently, no African maize line is completely resistant to infection by F. verticillioides. This study investigated an African maize line, Zea mays CML144, infected with F. verticillioides. Analysis of morphological characteristics showed significant differences between mock-infected and infected plants. RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) was conducted on plants 14 days post-inoculation to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in F. verticillioides infection. Analysis of RNA-seq data revealed DEGs that were both significantly up- and down-regulated in the infected samples compared to the mock-infected control. The maize TPS1 and cytochrome P450 genes were up-regulated, suggesting that kauralexins were involved in the CML144 defense response. This was substantiated by kauralexin analyses, which showed that kauralexins, belonging to class A and B, accumulated in infected maize tissue. Gene ontology terms relating to response to stimulus, chemical stimulus and carbohydrate metabolic processes were enriched, and the genes belonging to these GO-terms were down-regulated. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed on selected DEGs and measurement of phytoalexin accumulation validated the RNA-seq data and GO-analysis results. A comparison of DEGs from this study to DEGs found in F. verticillioides (ITEM 1744) infected susceptible (CO354) and resistant (CO441) maize genotypes in a previous study, matched 18 DEGs with 17 up-regulated and one down-regulated, respectively. This is the first transcriptomic study on the African maize line, CML144, in response to F. verticillioides infection.

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Fumonisin and Beauvericin Chemotypes and Genotypes of the Sister Species Fusarium subglutinans and Fusarium temperatum

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.00133-20 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 86 (13) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

M. Veronica Fumero ◽

Alessandra Villani ◽

Antonia Susca ◽

Miriam Haidukowski ◽

Maria T. Cimmarusti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fusarium Verticillioides ◽

Gene Clusters ◽

Toxin Production ◽

Sister Species ◽

Ear Rot ◽

Genome Sequences ◽

Fusarium Subglutinans ◽

Content Type ◽

Close Phylogenetic Relationship ◽

Fusarium Temperatum

ABSTRACT Fusarium subglutinans and Fusarium temperatum are common maize pathogens that produce mycotoxins and cause plant disease. The ability of these species to produce beauvericin and fumonisin mycotoxins is not settled, as reports of toxin production are not concordant. Our objective was to clarify this situation by determining both the chemotypes and genotypes for strains from both species. We analyzed 25 strains from Argentina, 13 F. subglutinans and 12 F. temperatum strains, for toxin production by ultraperformance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). We used new genome sequences from two strains of F. subglutinans and one strain of F. temperatum, plus genomes of other Fusarium species, to determine the presence of functional gene clusters for the synthesis of these toxins. None of the strains examined from either species produced fumonisins. These strains also lack Fum biosynthetic genes but retain homologs of some genes that flank the Fum cluster in Fusarium verticillioides. None of the F. subglutinans strains we examined produced beauvericin although 9 of 12 F. temperatum strains did. A complete beauvericin (Bea) gene cluster was present in all three new genome sequences. The Bea1 gene was presumably functional in F. temperatum but was not functional in F. subglutinans due to a large insertion and multiple mutations that resulted in premature stop codons. The accumulation of only a few mutations expected to disrupt Bea1 suggests that the process of its inactivation is relatively recent. Thus, none of the strains of F. subglutinans or F. temperatum we examined produce fumonisins, and the strains of F. subglutinans examined also cannot produce beauvericin. Variation in the ability of strains of F. temperatum to produce beauvericin requires further study and could reflect the recent shared ancestry of these two species. IMPORTANCE Fusarium subglutinans and F. temperatum are sister species and maize pathogens commonly isolated worldwide that can produce several mycotoxins and cause seedling disease, stalk rot, and ear rot. The ability of these species to produce beauvericin and fumonisin mycotoxins is not settled, as reports of toxin production are not concordant at the species level. Our results are consistent with previous reports that strains of F. subglutinans produce neither fumonisins nor beauvericin. The status of toxin production by F. temperatum needs further work. Our strains of F. temperatum did not produce fumonisins, while some strains produced beauvericin and others did not. These results enable more accurate risk assessments of potential mycotoxin contamination if strains of these species are present. The nature of the genetic inactivation of BEA1 is consistent with its relatively recent occurrence and the close phylogenetic relationship of the two sister species.

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Inhibition of Growth of Aspergillus flavus and Fungal α-Amylases by a Lectin-Like Protein from Lablab purpureus

Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions ◽

10.1094/mpmi.2001.14.8.955 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 14 (8) ◽

pp. 955-961 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

A. M. Fakhoury ◽

C. P. Woloshuk

Keyword(s):

Aspergillus Flavus ◽

Insect Pests ◽

Hyphal Growth ◽

Aflatoxin Production ◽

Lablab Purpureus ◽

Ear Rot ◽

Amylase Inhibitor ◽

Isolation And Characterization ◽

Novel Variant ◽

Rot Disease

Aspergillus flavus is a fungal pathogen of maize causing an important ear rot disease when plants are exposed to drought and heat stress. Associated with the disease is the production of aflatoxins, which are a series of structurally related mycotoxins known to be carcinogenic. Previous research has suggested that the α-amylase of A. flavus promotes aflatoxin production in the endosperm of infected maize kernels. We report here the isolation and characterization of a 36-kDa α-amylase inhibitor from Lablab purpureus (AILP). AILP inhibited the α-amylases from several fungi but had little effect on those from animal and plant sources. The protein inhibited conidial germination and hyphal growth of A. flavus. The amino acid sequence indicated that AILP is similar to lectin members of a lectin-arcelin-α-amylase inhibitor family described in common bean and shown to be a component of plant resistance to insect pests. AILP also agglutinated papain-treated red blood cells from human and rabbit. These data indicate that AILP represents a novel variant in the lectin-arcelin-α-amylase inhibitor family of proteins having lectin-like and α-amylase inhibitory activity.

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