Influence of environmental factors on the biosynthesis of type B trichothecenes by isolates of Fusarium spp. from Spanish crops

Various species of Fusarium can produce trichothecene mycotoxins that contaminate food commodities and can represent a risk for human and animal health. In this paper, a full factorial design was applied to study the influence of incubation temperature, water activity (aw) and type of isolate on the production of deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV) and 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-AcDON) in corn kernel cultures by three isolates of Fusarium graminearum and three isolates of Fusarium culmorum from crops grown in Spain. The tested temperatures were 15, 20, 28 and 32 °C. The aw-values were 0.960, 0.970 and 0.980. Moisture of cultures (within the studied range) did not affect significantly production of trichothecenes; however, the temperature affected significantly mycotoxin production and the optimal values were 28, 20 and 15 °C for DON, NIV and 3-AcDON, respectively. Four additional isolates of F. graminearum and two additional isolates of F. culmorum were examined for production of these mycotoxins at the optimal temperatures. Of the seven isolates of F. graminearum, four produced DON (0.88–3.97 μg/g), seven produced NIV (1.53–124 μg/g), and three produced 3-AcDON (0.65–10.6 μg/g). Of the five isolates of F. culmorum, four produced DON (1.20–4.93 μg/g), four produced NIV (6.94–701 μg/g), and four produced 3-AcDON (0.83–7.70 μg/g). Practically all isolates seem to belong to the NIV-chemotype. This is the first study done with regard to interaction between strain and ecological variables on type B trichothecene production by isolates of these two species from crops grown in Spain.