Contamination of barley seeds with Fusarium species and their toxins in Spain: an integrated approach.

Fusarium is a globally distributed fungal genus that includes different species pathogenic to cereals among others crops. Some of these Fusarium species can also produce toxic compounds towards animals and humans. In this work, the presence of the most important Fusarium toxins was determined in barley seeds from Spain, sampled according to European Union requirements. The results obtained were compared with the presence of mycotoxigenic species considered responsible for their synthesis by using species-specific polymerase chain reaction protocols. Fumonisins B(1) and B(2), zearalenone, trichothecenes type A (T-2 and HT-2) and trichothecenes type B (deoxynivalenol and nivalenol) were analy…

Conventional and Real-Time PCR Assays for Detection and Quantification of the Expression of Fumonisin Biosynthetic Genefum5 inFusarium verticillioides

Mycobiota and co-occurrence of mycotoxins in Capsicum powder

This study aimed to: (1) determine the mycobiota of Capsicum powder samples, paying a special attention to the mycotoxigenic moulds; (2) evaluate the contamination levels of aflatoxins (AF), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEA), deoxynivalenol (DON), T2 and HT2 toxins in those samples. Thirty-two samples were obtained through the methods of sampling established by the European Union legislation. Aspergillus and Eurotium were the most frequently found genera. Aspergillus section Nigri had the higher relative frequency in the samples, A. niger aggregate being the most representative group of this section. Other potentially mycotoxigenic Aspergillus, Fusarium and Penicillium species were foun…

Aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in stored barley grain in Spain and impact of PCR-based strategies to assess the occurrence of aflatoxigenic and ochratoxigenic Aspergillus spp.

Contamination of barley by moulds and mycotoxins results in quality and nutritional losses and represents a significant hazard to the food chain. The presence of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), B2 (AFB2), G1 (AFG1) and G2 (AFG2) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in stored barley in Spain has been studied. Species-specific PCR assays were used for detection of Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus, A. ochraceus, A. steynii, A. westerdijkiae, A. carbonarius and A. niger aggregate in mycotoxin-positive barley samples at different incubation times (0, 1 and 2 days). Classical enumeration techniques (CFU/g) in different culture media for evaluation of Aspergillus in sections Flavi, Circumdati and Nigri were also used. O…

Fumonisin production by Gibberella fujikuroi strains fromPinus species

Abstract Fumonisins are important mycotoxins basically produced by strains from the Gibberella fujikuroi species complex (with anamorphs in Fusarium genus) which contaminate food and feed products representing a risk to human and animal health. In this work, we report for the first time the fumonisin production of Fusarium moniliforme Sheldon strains associated to edible pine nuts of Pinus pinea. P. pinea is an important and widely distributed Pinus species in the Mediterranean area where their pine nuts are consumed raw or slightly processed in diverse food products. In this work, characterization and further identification of those strains were performed by polymerase chain reaction-restr…

Characterization ofFusarium verticillioides strains by PCR-RFLP analysis of the intergenic spacer region of the rDNA

Thirty-three Fusarium verticillioides strains from diverse origins and hosts have been analysed for fumonisin production and characterized in order (i) to detect the variability present in this species and (ii) to discriminate among isolates. The method used was a combination of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) generated by restriction endonucleases applied to the IGS region (intergenic spacer of rDNA). All the F. verticillioides strains associated with crops produced fumonisins B1 and B2 except those isolated from banana. Analysis of the IGS region by PCR-RFLP proved to be useful to detect variability within F. verticillioides and allowed …

Utility of the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisms of the intergenic spacer region of the rDNA for characterizing Gibberella fujikuroi isolates.

Summary In the present report, a total of thirty-one isolates of Gibberella fujikuroi (Sawada) Wollenw. species complex of Fusarium (section Liseola) morphologically classified as F. moniliforme according to the taxonomy of Nelson, Toussoun and Marasas (1983) were analyzed for their ability to produce fumonisin B1 and fumonisin B2 by an optimized liquid chromatographic method. They were isolated from three hosts (Zea mays, Musa sapientum and Pinus pinea). The results indicate that M. sapientum is a preferential host for G. fujikuroi isolates with low or null capacity for producing fumonisins, while isolates from Z. mays and P. pinea are generally high fumonisin producers. The molecular char…