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We have analyzed the role of fumonisins in infection of maize (Zea mays) by Gibberella moniliformis (anamorph Fusarium verticillioides) in field tests in Illinois and Iowa, United States. Fumonisin-nonproducing mutants were obtained by disrupting FUM1 (previously FUM5), the gene encoding a polyketide synthase required for fumonisin biosynthesis. Maize ear rot, ear infection, and fumonisin contamination were assessed by silk-channel injection in 1999 and 2000 and also by spray application onto maize silks, injection into maize stalks, and application with maize seeds at planting in 1999. Ear rot was evaluated by visual assessment of whole ears and by calculating percentage of symptomatic kernels by weight. Fumonisin levels in kernels were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. The presence of applied strains in kernels was determined by analysis of recovered isolates for genetic markers and fumonisin production. Two independent fumonisin-nonproducing (fum1-3 and fum1-4) mutants were similar to their respective fumonisin-producing (FUM1-1) progenitor strains in ability to cause ear rot following silk-- channel injection and also were similar in ability to infect maize ears following application by all four methods tested. This evidence confirms that fumonisins are not required for G. moniliformis to cause maize ear rot and ear infection.
Additional keyword: gene disruption.
Gibberella moniliformis (synonym G. fujikuroi mating population A, anamorph Fusarium verticillioides synonym F. moniliforme) is an important pathogen of maize (Zea mays) worldwide (Munkvold and Desjardins 1997). G. moniliformis not only can cause severe ear rot but also can infect maize ears, stalks, and roots without causing obvious symptoms. As an ear rot pathogen, G. moniliformis reduces yield and quality of infected grain and produces mycotoxins such as fumonisins in grain. Fumonisins are a family of polyketide mycotoxins produced by G. moniliformis and by certain other species of the genus Fusarium, including F. anthophilum, F fujikuroi, F. nygamai, F. oxysporum, and F. proliferatum (Munkvold and Desjardins 1997). Most naturally occurring strains of G. moniliformis produce high levels of fumonisin B^sub 1^ (FB^sub 1^) and lower levels of other fumonisin homologues, including fumonisin B^sub 2^ (FB^sub 2^), which has no oxygen atom at carbon 10, and fumonisin B^sub 3^ (FB^sub 3^) which has no oxygen atom at carbon 5. However, rare natural variants exist that produce no FBI but instead produce FB^sub 2^...