EFS12- Book of abstracts - Contact

SESSION 1: FUSARIUM – GENETICS, GENOMICS AND SYSTEMS BIOLOGY
P8 - Interactions between different Fusarium species
to uncover multi-toxin synergistic mechanisms
K. Bala, B. Blackwell, A. Z. Morales, A. Johnston, C. Brown, D.
Schneiderman, S. Gleddie, L. J. Harris
Eastern Cereal & Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 960 Carling Avenue,
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada
E-mail: kanak.bala@agr.gc.ca
Fusarium head blight disease (FHB) is a major threat to wheat, barley, maize and
other economically important crop plants worldwide. FHB is caused by a number
of species in the genus Fusarium, including F. graminearum, F. culmorum, F.
sporotrichioides and F. avenaceum. Multiple species of Fusarium have been
found to infect grain in Canada. Synergistic effects of these species may cause
high accumulation of mycotoxins in crops and development of more aggressive
strains.
We present here deoxynivalenol (DON) profiles of approximately 16 new strains
of F. graminearum isolated from various regions of Canada in 2011. Based on
translation elongation factor (TEF) and TRI8 gene sequencing, these strains were
identified and characterized as 15-A and 3-ADON genotypes. All isolates were
analyzed in vitro by HPLC to characterize metabolite profiles and in planta for
disease severity. Strains producing maximum 15-ADON and 3-ADON in vitro
were identified and selected for co-cultivation studies. One 15-ADON and one 3-
ADON strain were co-inoculated in a pair-wise fashion with five different strains of
F. avenaceum and one F. sporotrichioides strain in liquid cultures. Crude culture
filtrates and extracts were sampled at different time points to assess metabolite
profiles by HPLC and LC-MS. LC-MS results showed a predominance of F.
graminearum metabolites from the 3-ADON strain and F. avenaceum co-cultures.
We are currently investigating whether 3-ADON and 15-ADON genotypes of F.
graminearum interact differently with F. avenaceum and F. sporotrichioides. We
are analyzing the transcriptome of F. graminearum from co-cultures of F.
graminearum with F. avenaceum and F. graminearum with F. sporotrichioides to
gain insights into the mechanisms of TRI gene regulation during interaction with
other Fusarium species.
Keywords: Fusarium, co-cultivation, 15-ADON, 3-ADON
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