EFS12- Book of abstracts - Contact

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