EFS12- Book of abstracts - Contact
EFS12- Book of abstracts - Contact
EFS12- Book of abstracts - Contact
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
SESSION 4: GENETICS OF HOSTS – PLANT RESISTANCE TO FUSARIUM,<br />
VARIETY DEVELOPMENT<br />
P105 - Fusarium verticillioides ear rot and fumonisin<br />
accumulation resistance in Italian maize germplasm<br />
A. Torri, C. Lanzanova, S. Locatelli, N. Berardo, R. Redaelli, P. Valoti, C.<br />
Balconi<br />
Consiglio per la Ricerca e la sperimentazione in Agricoltura - Unità di Ricerca per la Maiscoltura,CRA-<br />
MAC, Via Stezzano, 24 - 24126 Bergamo-Italy<br />
E-mail: alessio.torri@entecra.it<br />
Maize germplasm was shown to possess a wide genetic variability for the main<br />
components <strong>of</strong> the grain; the maize germplasm preserved at CRA-MAC in<br />
Bergamo, with its over 5000 accessions, is one <strong>of</strong> largest in Europe and can be<br />
exploited to find a potential genotype with better nutritional value and pathogen<br />
resistance. Mycotoxin contamination in maize grain, carried by fungal pathogens,<br />
is a worldwide threat to both safety <strong>of</strong> human food and animal feed.<br />
With the aim to deepen the knowledge <strong>of</strong> maize genetic resources useful in<br />
breeding programs, a set <strong>of</strong> 14 traditional Italian inbred lines and 27 local varieties<br />
was chosen, on the basis <strong>of</strong> their differential fumonisin accumulation in the grain,<br />
after artificial Fusarium verticillioides inoculation field experiments (2009-2010).<br />
Inbred lines were tested in OPEN pollination trials, during 2011 and 2012, in two<br />
locations (Bergamo and S. Angelo Lodigiano); in addition, a set <strong>of</strong> 27 local<br />
varieties was tested in Bergamo (2011-2012).<br />
This test implied: i) field artificial inoculation through the Kernel Inoculation Assay<br />
method at 15 days after mid-silking, using a mixture <strong>of</strong> two toxigenic F.<br />
verticillioides strains; as controls: sterile water inoculated (internal KIA control),<br />
and non-inoculated ears; ii) infection evaluation: number <strong>of</strong> contaminated kernels<br />
(NCK) at the point <strong>of</strong> inoculation: iii) visual rating evaluation <strong>of</strong> non-inoculated<br />
controls; iii) evaluation <strong>of</strong> internal kernel infection (IKI); iv) quantification <strong>of</strong><br />
fumonisins in the grain. The inoculation technique applied in this study was<br />
effective in discriminating genotypes with regard to their response to kernel<br />
infection and to fumonisin accumulation. Large variability <strong>of</strong> response to<br />
inoculation was found among the inbred lines and among the local varieties; this<br />
research highlighted some interesting Italian sources <strong>of</strong> resistance to fumonisin<br />
accumulation. Correlations between visual evaluation, internal kernel infection<br />
and fumonisin content in the grain, are in progress.<br />
The research recognises the financial support <strong>of</strong> the Research Programs RGV-<br />
FAO and MICOPRINCEM, Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali<br />
(MiPAAF)<br />
Keywords: Fusarium verticillioides, germplasm, artificial inoculation, Zea mays L.<br />
198