Fumonisin B1-producing Fusarium species from agricultural crops in Malaysia

Many species of Fusarium are pathogenic as well toxigenic to a wide variety of plants. The present study was conducted to determine the ability of four members of Fusarium fujikuroi species complex and F. oxysporum from various crops to produce fumonisin B1 (FB1). Isolates of Fusarium species from infected parts of asparagus, ginger, oil palm, mango, banana, maize, and rice were identified as F. verticillioides (11 isolates), F. proliferatum (50 isolates), F. fujikuroi (24 isolates), F. andiyazi (six isolates), and F. oxysporum (32 isolates). FUM1, a gene involved in fumonisin biosynthesis, was detected in 94 isolates of F. verticillioides (11 isolates), F. proliferatum (49 isolates), F. fujikuroi (24 isolates), and F. oxysporum (10 isolates) but only 61 were positive for FB1 when tested using RIDA®Quick Fumonisin test strip, indicating that the presence of FUM1 was not necessarily associated with FB1 production. Based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography, all the 61 isolates were detected to produce FB1, at variable levels, with concentrations ranging from 0.60 to 29.2 μg/g. Our results suggested that there is a potential risk of FB1 contamination in agricultural crops in Malaysia.