Fumonisin B1-4-producing capacity of Hungarian Fusarium verticillioides isolates

Abstract

The fumonisin B 1-4 (FB 1-4 ) toxin-producing capacities of 60 strains of Fusarium verticillioides isolated in the main maize-cultivating areas of Hungary were screened on rice grains in vitro . The amounts of FB 1 , FB 2 , FB 3 and FB 4 in the extracts of the culture material were determined by RP-HPLC/ESI-IT MS without any sample clean-up. All F. verticillioides strains produced all analogues (FB 1-4 ) of the fumonisin B series. The strains did not differ significantly in their cultural characteristics, though the analytical results allowed the distinction of three idiosyncratic FB 1-4 -producing chemotypes with characteristic proportions of the fumonisin B analogues. The dominant chemotype produced them in the sequence FB 1 > FB 2 > FB 3 > FB 4 , with large amounts of FB 1 and FB 2 . A second chemotype produced a higher amount of FB 3 than of FB 2 , while the third chemotype produced large amounts of FB 2 and FB 4 . The proportion of FB 1 in the extracts was inversely correlated with the total FB yield. No differences in FB 1-4 producing capacity were observed between strains isolated from various locations or different sources.