Alteration of fungal growth and toxigenicity due to the protective effect of cereal coats

Storage fungi cause economic losses in cereal crops and health hazards due to the mycotoxin production. Keeping the natural coating material intact around the seed is one approach to avoid toxigenic fungal invasion. However, there are no data available about the exact role of the seed coat in this protective process. Therefore, the objective of this study was to explore the protective effect of seed coats against toxic fungal infection. A spore suspension was used to inoculate coated and uncoated wheat and barley seeds. The dry weight was used to trace the growth curve, and HPLC was used to determine aflatoxin concentration throughout the various stages of the study. The obtained results demonstrated that the coats around the seeds succeeded in reducing growth from 41% to 91% and that toxin production was reduced from 93% to 99%. The aflatoxigenicity of the fungal cells was reduced by 98% per growth unit.

► Keeping coating material intact around the seed may avoid toxigenic fungal invasion. ► The aim was to explore the seed coats protective effect on toxic fungal infection. ► Seed coats reduce the growth by 41-91% and reduce toxin production by 93%-99%. ► The aflatoxigenicity of the fungal cells was reduced by 98% per growth unit. ► This is the first time to prove that seed coat affect the cell toxin production.