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Physiology and Biochemistry

Enniatin Production by Fusarium tricinctum and its Effect on Germinating Wheat Seeds. H. R. Burmeister, Northern Regional Research Center (NRRC), Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1815 North University Street, Peoria, IL 61604; R. D. Plattner, Northern Regional Research Center (NRRC), Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1815 North University Street, Peoria, IL 61604. Phytopathology 77:1483-1487. Accepted for publication 6 April 1987. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1987. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-77-1483.

Fusarium tricinctum strains isolated from winter wheat with symptoms of crown and root rot. English ivy with leaf spot, apparently healthy red clover root, or pasture soil produced enniatins. Although enniatins are metabolites of at least five other species in the genus, this is the first report of their production by F. tricinctum. Analysis by mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry of extracts from 13 isolates showed that 10 of them were positive for enniatin with concentrations ranging from about 3 to 3,270 µg/g of corn substrate. When enniatin (10–80 µg/ml) was added to the solution in which wheat seeds were germinated, growth reduction of the developing seeds was directly related to the concentration of enniatin, with root elongation being inhibited more than leaf development.