Effects of Atmospheric CO2 and Temperature on Wheat and Corn Susceptibility to Fusarium graminearum and Deoxynivalenol Contamination

Abstract

This work details the impact of atmospheric CO₂ and temperature conditions on two strains of <i>Fusarium graminearum,</i> their disease damage, pathogen growth, mycotoxin accumulation, and production per unit fungal biomass in wheat and corn. An elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentration, 1000 ppm CO₂, significantly increased the accumulation of deoxynivalenol in infected plants. Furthermore, growth in cool growing conditions, 20 °C/18 °C, day and night, respectively, resulted in the highest amounts of pathogen biomass and toxin accumulation in both inoculated wheat and corn. Warm temperatures, 25 °C/23 °C, day and night, respectively, suppressed pathogen growth and toxin accumulation, with reductions as great as 99% in corn. In wheat, despite reduced pathogen biomass and toxin accumulation at warm temperatures, the fungal pathogen was more aggressive with greater disease damage and toxin production per unit biomass. Disease outcomes were also pathogen strain specific, with complex interactions between host, strain, and growth conditions. However, we found that atmospheric CO₂ and temperature had essentially no significant interactions, except for greatly increased deoxynivalenol accumulation in corn at cool temperatures and elevated CO₂. Plants were most susceptible to disease damage at warm and cold temperatures for wheat and corn, respectively. This work helps elucidate the complex interaction between the abiotic stresses and biotic susceptibility of wheat and corn to <i>Fusarium graminearum</i> infection to better understand the potential impact global climate change poses to future food security.