Production of the mycotoxins fusaproliferin and beauvericin by South African isolates in the Fusarium section Liseola

The production of fusaproliferin (FUS), a recently described mycotoxin, and beauvericin (BEA), a mycotoxin recently reported to co-occur with FUS in F usarium-infected corn, by South African isolates in the Fusarium section Li seola, was investigated. Five isolates each off. verticillioides, F. prolif eratum, F. subglutinans, and F. globosum were cultured on corn kernels. Fou r each of the five South African isolates off. proliferatum and F: subgluti nans produced FUS (10-1725 and 330-2630 mg/kg, respectively). BEA was produ ced by four of the F. proliferatum strains (310-1130 mg/kg) and three of th e F: subglutinans strains (140-700 mg/kg). The isolates of F. verticillioid es failed to produce significant levels of either of these secondary metabo lites. F, globosum was a weak producer of both in that one isolate of five produced 25 mg/kg FUS and five out of five produced BEA at levels ranging b etween 10 and 110 mg/kg. To further characterize these strains, their produ ction of fumonisins B-1, B-2, and B-3, as well as moniliformin, was investi gated. Of the four species investigated, fumonisins were produced by all ex cept F. subglutinans, which in turn was the only species whose isolates in this study produced moniliformin (four of five isolates, ranging from 155 t o 2095 mg/kg). Analysis of visibly Fusarium-infected home-grown corn collec ted in the Transkei region of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa sho wed that nine of the ten samples contained low levels of FUS (up to 62 mu g /kg), whereas all ten samples showed BEA contamination ranging from 8 to 17 34 mu g/kg with a mean of 258 mu g/kg.