MYCOTOXINS ▶▶▶
Probiotics for tougher plants
Canadian researchers combine modern tech with ancient organisms to find solutions to mycotoxin- producing fungus.
BY MATT MCINTOSH, CORRESPONDENT FOR NORTH AMERICA A
ncestral varieties of modern corn and wheat might be the key to non-chemical mycotoxin pre- vention. More specifically, some of the strains of bacteria which naturally developed alongside
those varieties have been shown by Canadian researchers to
be highly effective against Fusarium head blight and Gibberella ear rot. Now these researchers are working with the private sector to develope a practical product for grain growers to use.
Finding the right bacterial companion Manish Raizada is a professor of plant agriculture at the Uni- versity of Guelph in the province of Ontario. After elevated levels of mycotoxins had raised serious grain marketing is- sues in recent years (most notably in 2018), Manish was asked to head a team of researchers charged with develop- ing a more effective biological control for grain growers. To do so, they turned to what appeared to be much older and more-resistant varieties of each crop. More specifically, that looked at microbial endophytes (bacteria that live between plant cells) isolated from ancient and landrace corn varie- ties, as well as finger millet (a very old African crop with nat- ural Fusarium resistance). These microbes are very numer- ous in the natural world and, as Raizada explains, often have mutually beneficial relationship with the host plant (some strains can, for example, enhance root growth and nitrogen absorption).
He also states that the ability of fungi to rapidly develop re- sistance to commonly-used fungicides continues to be a growing concern – but, because probiotic microbes can evolve with the pathogen, the right endophyte could provide farmers with a longer-term mycotoxin management tool.
Untreated corn infested with Fusarium (head blight).
6
Maize treated with the promising M6 endocyte.
▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 28, No. 9, 2020
Startlingly positive results Overall, Raizada and his colleagues screened approximately 200 microbial strains. Five anti-Fusarium bacteria strains were isolated and used in greenhouse trials, with each one dramat- ically suppressing mycotoxin DON accumulation (up to 97 per cent in corn and 85 per cent in wheat). Applying the endo- phytes via seed coating was less effective then direct foliar applications, but the results overall were startlingly positive. “We had huge success here. It’s the best Fusarium control in a study ever reported in corn,” says Raizada. Indeed, he says some endophyte strains almost eliminated the ear rot patho- gen. The results for wheat were less impressive, but three of the tested strains still managed to reduce pathogen levels by 60 per cent.
PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH
PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH
FOTO: MARK PASVEER
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