Acta Univ. Agric. Silvic. Mendelianae Brun. 2012, 60(5), 115-124 | DOI: 10.11118/actaun201260050115

Fungi of the Fusarium genus in the grains of conventional hybrids and transgenic Bt-hybrids of maize (Zea mays L.) in the Czech Republic

Martin Kmoch1, Ivana Šafránková1, Ludmila Holková1, Ivana Polišenská2, Zdeněk Krédl1, Radovan Pokorný1
1 Ústav pěstování, šlechtění rostlin a rostlinolékařství, Mendelova univerzita v Brně, Zemědělská 1/1665, 613 00 Brno, Česká republika
2 Agrotest fyto, s. r. o., Kroměříž, Havlíčkova 2787/121, 767 01 Kroměříž, Česká republika

Fungi of the Fusarium genus, the agent of ear rot in maize, not only causes decrease in yields but also negatively affects grain quality and, in relation to mycotoxins production, the health of humans and animals. This study focuses on determining the species range of Fusarium fungi in naturally infected stands of conventional hybrids and transgenic Bt-hybrids of maize in the Czech Republic during 2008 and 2009. Individual species of the Fusarium genus were determined on the basis of morphological characteristics and using polymerase chain reaction. Ten mycotoxigenic species were identified in hybrid maize grains: F. subglutinans (40.4%), F. graminearum (19.8%), F. verticillioides (18.2%), F. poae (9.3%), F. proliferatum (4.0%), F. avenaceum (3.8%), F. oxysporum (1.7%), F. sporotrichioides (1.3%), F. sambucinum (1.3%) and F. culmorum (0.2%). The species F. subglutinans, F. graminearum and F. verticillioides were dominant in both years. The frequency of individual Fusarium species did not significantly differ between conventional and transgenic Bt-hybrids. Differences in species representation were determined between individual years and sites. The hypothesized markedly lower infection of individual Bt-hybrids with fungi of the Fusarium genus was not statistically significant, although most Bt-hybrids did demonstrate lower infection without that being statistically significant. The average level of infection by the Fusarium genus in 2008 was 13.2% for grains of conventional hybrids and 6.6% for Bt-hybrids (50% lower). In 2009, the average infection level was 13.6% for conventional hybrids and 12.6% for Bt-hybrids (7.4% lower). The average infection level for grains of Bt-hybrids by the species F. subglutinans, F. graminearum and F. proliferatum was lower than that for grains of conventional hybrids in both years.

Keywords: maize, Fusarium spp., microbiological method, PCR
Grants and funding:

The research was financially supported by the project number DP 9/2009 and IP 14/2010 of the Internal Grant Agency of the Mendel University in Brno and by the Research plan No. MSM6215648905 "Biological and technological aspects of sustainability of controlled ecosystems and their adaptability to climate change", which is financed by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic.

Received: April 2, 2012; Prepublished online: July 24, 2013; Published: July 30, 2013  Show citation

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Kmoch, M., Šafránková, I., Holková, L., Polišenská, I., Krédl, Z., & Pokorný, R. (2012). Fungi of the Fusarium genus in the grains of conventional hybrids and transgenic Bt-hybrids of maize (Zea mays L.) in the Czech Republic. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 60(5), 115-124. doi: 10.11118/actaun201260050115
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