Fusarium culmorum Infection of Barley Seedlings: Correlation between Aggressiveness and Deoxynivalenol Content |
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Authors: | HELLE HESTBJERG GITTE FELDING & SUSANNE ELMHOLT |
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Institution: | Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Crop Physiology and Soil Science, Research Centre Foulum, PO Box 50, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark,;Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Department of Geochemistry, Thoravej 8, DK-2400 Copenhagen NV, Denmark |
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Abstract: | Fusarium culmorum is a serious plant pathogen, especially on cereals. The production of deoxynivalenol (DON) by F. culmorum is believed to play a role in pathogenesis. This relationship has been almost exclusively studied in connection with head blight. The present paper reports the first finding of DON in cereal seedlings infected with F. culmorum . A pathogenicity test was performed, including 70 isolates of this pathogen from different sites within northern and central Europe. All isolates caused disease on barley seedlings. For 15 isolates with varying aggressiveness, the DON content in the 19-day-old-barley seedlings was determined. There was a significant correlation between DON concentration and disease index. The aggressiveness of two outlying isolates with very low DON production is discussed. The results indicate that for F. culmorum isolates of the DON chemotype, production of this toxin influences the aggressiveness of the isolates towards barley seedlings. |
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Keywords: | Barley seedlings deoxynivalenol Fusarium culmorum aggressiveness |
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