October
1999
, Volume
83
, Number
10
Pages
954
-
960
Authors
L. J.
Harris
,
Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C6 Canada
;
A. E.
Desjardins
and
R. D.
Plattner
,
Mycotoxin Research, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, USDA/ARS, Peoria, IL 61604
;
P.
Nicholson
,
John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
;
G.
Butler
and
J. C.
Young
,
Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C6 Canada
;
G.
Weston
,
John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
;
R. H.
Proctor
and
T. M.
Hohn
,
Mycotoxin Research, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, USDA/ARS, Peoria, IL 61604
Affiliations
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RelatedArticle
Accepted for publication 28 June 1999.
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Trichothecene-producing and -nonproducing Fusarium graminearum strains were tested for their ability to cause Gibberella ear rot in field trials at two locations—Ottawa, Ontario, and Peoria, Illinois—in 1996. Maize ears were inoculated with wild-type or transgenic F. graminearum strains in which the trichothecene biosynthetic pathway had been disabled by the specific disruption of the trichodiene synthase gene and with a derivative revertant strain in which trichothecene production had been restored through recombination. A silk channel inoculation method was employed at both locations. In addition, a kernel puncture inoculation method was used at the Ontario location. Harvested maize ears were analyzed for visual disease severity, grain yield, deoxynivalenol (DON) concentration, and fungal biomass by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and/or ergosterol quantitation. There was a significant correlation (r= 0.86) between data obtained from the two different methods of quantifying fungal biomass. The trichothecene-nonproducing strains were still pathogenic but appeared less virulent on maize than the trichothecene-producing progenitor and revertant strains, as assayed by most parameters. This suggests that the trichothecenes may act as virulence factors to enhance the spread of F. graminearum on maize.
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ArticleCopyright
The American Phytopathological Society, 1999