engleski

Biodiversity of Fusaria on crops from different regions of Croatia

Mycotoxin-producing fungi and opportunistic pathogens endanger food safety, as 25–50 % of crops harvested worldwide are contaminated with mycotoxins. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the biodiversity of moulds in crops (corn, wheat, and barley) collected during the vegetation period (July of 2020) in northern, central, and eastern Croatia. From each of the samples (n = 45), the moulds were isolated on Dichloran Rose Bengal Chloramphenicol (DRBC) agar and Dichloran-glycerol (18 %) (DG18) agar following the peptone broth dilution method. Mean mould concentration (CFU/g) was obtained based on the number of colonies grown after 5 days at 25 °C, and identification to the genus level was based on their macro- and micromorphology. Because the fungi from the genus Fusarium are prevailing plant pathogens and mycotoxins- producing moulds, the specific goal of this study was to identify the isolates assigned to the genus Fusarium to the species level by comparing their partial sequences of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and elongation factor alpha (TEF-1α) with those in the FUSARIOID-ID database (available at: https://www.fusarium.org/). Higher concentrations of moulds (CFU/g) were found in samples from eastern (1.17×105 on DG18 and 2.11×105 on DRBC agar) and central part of Croatia (1.11×105 on DG18 and 9.78×104 on DRBC agar) in comparison to northern Croatia (5.53×104 on DG18 and 7.46×104 on DRBC agar). Moulds from the genus Cladosporium prevailed in all crops and the Fusarium species were the second most frequently detected in barley collected at all of the sampling locations. Other moulds belonged to Alternaria, Phoma, Penicillium, Mucor, and Epicoccum. The collected Fusarium isolates (n = 15) were resolved into nine different species: F. aethiopicum (1/15), F. annulatum (4/15), F. cerealis (1/15), F. graminearum (2/15), F. proliferatum (1/15), F. secorum (3/15), F. sporotrichioides (1/15), F. subglutinans (1/15), and F. verticilioides (1/15). Majority of detected Fusaria (F. annulatum, F. proliferatum, F. subglutinans, F. secorum and F. verticillioides) belong to the F. fujikuroi species complex and were dominant in cereals from Eastern Croatia. Detecting and identifying different moulds can be of great importance in tracking the health of a plant population, as well as for controlling the safety of feed and food and ultimately in monitoring and preserving the health of our whole eco-system.

CFU, ITS ; monitoring ; moulds in crops ; TEF-1α.

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