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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2004, p. 2254-2262, Vol. 70, No. 4
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.4.2254-2262.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Species Diversity of and Toxin Production by Gibberella fujikuroi Species Complex Strains Isolated from Native Prairie Grasses in Kansas{dagger}

John F. Leslie,1* Kurt A. Zeller,1,{ddagger} Antonio Logrieco,2 Giuseppina Mulè,2 Antonio Moretti,2 and Alberto Ritieni3

Department of Plant Pathology, Throckmorton Plant Sciences Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506-5502,1 Institute of Sciences of Food Production, 70125 Bari,2 Department of Food Sciences, "Federico II" Naples University, Parco Gussone, 80055 Portici, Italy3

Received 26 August 2003/ Accepted 29 December 2003

Fusarium species from agricultural crops have been well studied with respect to toxin production and genetic diversity, while similar studies of communities from nonagricultural plants are much more limited. We examined 72 Fusarium isolates from a native North American tallgrass prairie and found that Gibberella intermedia (Fusarium proliferatum), Gibberella moniliformis (Fusarium verticillioides), and Gibberella konza (Fusarium konzum) dominated. Gibberella thapsina (Fusarium thapsinum) and Gibberella subglutinans (Fusarium subglutinans) also were recovered, as were seven isolates that could not be assigned to any previously described species on the basis of either morphological or molecular characters. In general, isolates from the prairie grasses produced the same toxins in quantities similar to those produced by isolates of the same species recovered from agricultural hosts. The G. konza isolates produce little or no fumonisins (up to 120 µg/g by one strain), and variable but generally low to moderate amounts of beauvericin (4 to 320 µg/g) and fusaproliferin (50 to 540 µg/g). Toxicity to Artemia salina larvae within most species was correlated with the concentration of either beauvericin or fusaproliferin produced. Organic isolates from some cultures of G. moniliformis were highly toxic towards A. salina even though they produced little, if any, beauvericin or fusaproliferin. Thus, additional potentially toxigenic compounds may be synthesized by G. moniliformis strains isolated from prairie grasses. The Fusarium community from these grasses appears to contain some species not found in surrounding agricultural communities, including some that probably are undescribed, and could be capable of serving as a reservoir for strains of potential agricultural importance.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Plant Pathology, 4002 Throckmorton Plant Sciences Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506-5502. Phone: (785) 532-1363. Fax: (785) 532-2414. E-mail: jfl-aem{at}plantpath.ksu.edu.

{dagger} This is manuscript no. 04-065-J from the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Manhattan, Kans.

{ddagger} Present address: USDA-APHIS-PPQ-CPHST, Plant Germplasm Quarantine and Biotechnology Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705.


Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2004, p. 2254-2262, Vol. 70, No. 4
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.4.2254-2262.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.




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  • Bomke, C., Rojas, M. C., Hedden, P., Tudzynski, B. (2008). Loss of Gibberellin Production in Fusarium verticillioides (Gibberella fujikuroi MP-A) Is Due to a Deletion in the Gibberellic Acid Gene Cluster. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 7790-7801 [Abstract] [Full Text]