Mycotoxin Diagnostic Laboratory Helps FHB Researchers Evaluate Effectiveness of Efforts to Fight Fusarium Head Blight

The Mycotoxin Diagnostic Laboratory in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Minnesota has been providing rapid and reliable mycotoxin analysis services to Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) research projects using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) since 1994. Although the most widely analyzed toxin is deoxynivalenol (DON), our laboratory also provides analytical services for other DON related toxins such as 3-acetyl-DON, 15-acetyl-DON, and nivalenol as well as zearalenone, a mycotoxin also produced by Fusarium fungi.

From July 2006 to June 2007 (2006/2007 crop year), our laboratory analyzed 15,141 grain samples, which is about 26% increase compared with 12,013 samples analyzed last crop year. It reflects the increasing demands on DON testing and demonstrates the importance of DON analysis to the FHB research program. Of the 15,141 samples, 9,600 were regular mature grain samples (4-20 g) and 5,541 were small size samples, such as mature grain samples less than 4 g, fungal cultures, single kernel, single spikelet, plant crown, node and rachis. They were submitted by 21 FHB research groups from 10 states including Minnesota, Michigan, Kansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Arkansas, Idaho, New York, Virginia, and South Dakota. The target mycotoxins included DON, 15-acetyl-DON, 3-acetyl-DON, nevalenol, and zearalenone. For 2007/2008 crop year, a survey among FHB research projects indicated that over 20,000 samples would be submitted to our laboratory for DON testing.

By analyzing mycotoxins, our laboratory provided support to barley and wheat breeding programs to develop resistant varieties, and to researchers to study disease mechanisms and to develop effective and economical chemical and biological disease controls. Mycotoxin results provided by our laboratory give FHB researchers a means to evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts in fighting Fusarium Head Blight.

-- Yanhong Dong, Ph.D., U of M Department of Plant Pathology