ARS | Publication request: A Comparison of the Aggressiveness and Deoxynivalenol Content of Canadian 3-acetyl and 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol Producers of Fusarium graminearum in Fieldgrown Spring Wheat

Submitted to: The Canadian Workshop on Fusarium Head Blight
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 4, 2009
Publication Date: November 4, 2009
Citation: Knopf, C., Gauthier, V., Tamburic-Ilincic, L., Brule-Babel, A., Fernando, W.D., Clear, R., Ward, T.J., Miedaner, T. 2009. A Comparison of the Aggressiveness and Deoxynivalenol Content of Canadian 3-acetyl and 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol Producers of Fusarium graminearum in Fieldgrown Spring Wheat. The Canadian Workshop on Fusarium Head Blight.

Technical Abstract: Twenty four isolates of Fusarium graminearum of Canadian origin half of which were 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-ADON) and half 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15-ADON) producers, were tested for their ability to cause Fusarium head blight (FHB), as measured by FHB index and production of deoxynivalenol (DON) in spring wheat. Objectives were to determine (i) whether 3-ADON producers differ in aggressiveness and DON production from 15-ADON producers under field conditions, (ii) whether resistant host cultivars were stable across isolates. Field tests of all isolates were conducted with three replications at each of two locations in Canada and Germany in 2008, with three host genotypes differing in FHB resistance level. Mean FHB indices and DON content were analyzed. Mean FHB indices across locations ranged from 5.48 - 34.42%. The resistant host genotype showed resistance regardless of the isolate or location. The differences between mean FHB indices of 3-ADON and 15-ADON chemotypes were not significant. In contrast, DON production by the 3-ADON isolates was significantly (P < 0.05) higher at two locations (13.0 vs. 7.6 mg kg-1). Acetylated forms of DON accounted for only 2.5% (3-ADON) and 0.4% (15-ADON) of the total DON concentration across the two German locations. 3-ADON isolates may produce more DON depending on location than 15-ADON producers, but their mean aggressiveness is quite similar.