Effect of Temperature, Water Activity and Carbon Dioxide on Fungal Growth and Mycotoxin Production of Acclimatised Isolates of Fusarium verticillioides and F. graminearum

• Published in: Toxins Vol. 12; no. 8; p. 478
• Main Authors: Peter Mshelia, Ladi, Selamat, Jinap, Iskandar Putra Samsudin, Nik, Rafii, Mohd Y, Abdul Mutalib, Noor-Azira, Nordin, Noordiana, Berthiller, Franz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 28-07-2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Acclimatization; Agricultural commodities; Carbon Dioxide; Climate Change; Climate effects; Climate prediction; Climatic conditions; CO2; Corn; Cultivation; Deoxynivalenol; Diameters; Environmental impact; F. verticillioides; Food; Food safety; Food security; Fumonisin B1; Fumonisin B2; Fungi; Fusarium; Fusarium - growth & development; Fusarium - metabolism; Fusarium verticillioides; Growth conditions; High performance liquid chromatography; High temperature; Liquid chromatography; Mycotoxins; Mycotoxins - biosynthesis; Pathogens; Pests; Quadrupoles; Temperature; Temperature effects; Water; Water activity; Zearalenone; Malaysia; India; F. graminearum; F. verticillioides; mycotoxins; aw; CO2; temperature; climate change
• ISSN: 2072-6651; 2072-6651
• DOI: 10.3390/toxins12080478

Climate change is primarily manifested by elevated temperature and carbon dioxide (CO
) levels and is projected to provide suitable cultivation grounds for pests and pathogens in the otherwise unsuitable regions. The impacts of climate change have been predicted in many parts of the world, which could threaten global food safety and food security. The aim of the present work was therefore to examine the interacting effects of water activity (a
) (0.92, 0.95, 0.98 a
), CO
(400, 800, 1200 ppm) and temperature (30, 35 °C and 30, 33 °C for
and
, respectively) on fungal growth and mycotoxin production of acclimatised isolates of
and
isolated from maize. To determine fungal growth, the colony diameters were measured on days 1, 3, 5, and 7. The mycotoxins produced were quantified using a quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometer (QTOF-MS) combined with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) system. For
, the optimum conditions for growth of fumonisin B
(FB
), and fumonisin B
(FB
) were 30 °C + 0.98 a
+ 400 ppm CO
. These conditions were also optimum for
growth, and zearalenone (ZEA) and deoxynivalenol (DON) production. Since 30 °C and 400 ppm CO
were the baseline treatments, it was hence concluded that the elevated temperature and CO
levels tested did not seem to significantly impact fungal growth and mycotoxin production of acclimatised
isolates. To the best of our knowledge thus far, the present work described for the first time the effects of simulated climate change conditions on fungal growth and mycotoxin production of acclimatised isolates of
and
.