Prevalence and diversity of Fusarium pathogens causing Fusarium head blight on oat in Manitoba
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Abstract
In small grain cereals, Fusarium head blight (FHB), a serious plant disease caused by Fusarium spp., can cause significant yield losses and mycotoxin contamination. The most familiar Fusarium mycotoxins are trichothecenes of type-A (T-2, HT-2) and type-B (DON, NIV). Recent surveys conducted in western Canada have indicated that FHB was common in oat. So, this study focus is on the prevalence and diversity of Fusarium species found in commercial oat fields in Manitoba. A total of 168 oat samples were collected between 2016 and 2018. They were examined for the presence of Fusarium graminearum, F. poae, F. avenaceum, and F. sporotrichioides through morphological and molecular (conventional and real-time quantitative PCR) analyses. Our results showed that F. poae is the most common Fusarium species in oat, followed by F. greaminearum and F. sporotrichiodies. We used a phylogenetic approach to examine the relationship among F. poae strains from Manitoba using concatenate DNA sequences of translation elongation factor 1-α, TRI1 and TRI8. Furthermore, the level of mycotoxins in oat grain samples was analyzed using LC-MS/MS, and the correlation between Fusarium DNA and mycotoxin levels was investigated.