<i>Fusarium</i> spp. and levels of fumonisins in maize produced by subsistence farmers in South Africa
Keywords:
mycotoxins, fumonisins, Fusarium species
Abstract
Fusarium spp. produce fumonisins – mycotoxins that are of importance to maize production in South Africa. Fumonisins have been associated with human oesophageal cancer and cause various diseases in animals that are of concern to the animal feed industry. Maize samples, collected from subsistence farm fields in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa during the 2006 and 2007 growing seasons, were analysed for Fusarium spp. and contamination with fumonisins. Fusarium verticillioides was the most common Fusarium species in maize followed by F. subglutinans and F. proliferatum. Levels of contamination with fumonisins ranged from 0 μg/g to 21.8 μg/g, depending on the region where samples were collected. Levels of fumonisins were highest in northern KwaZulu-Natal (Zululand) where 52% and 17% of samples collected in 2006 and 2007, respectively, exceeded 2 μg/g. Regression analyses showed a positive correlation between fumonisin-producing Fusarium spp. determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction and concentration of fumonisins (r = 0.93). Many samples from Zululand, and some from Mokopane (Limpopo) and Lusikisiki (Eastern Cape), contained fumonisins at levels well above the maximum levels of 2 μg/g set by the Food and Drug administration (USA) and therefore also the limit of 1 μg/g set by the European Union for food intended for direct human consumption. Regulations governing contamination of grain with fumonisins are not yet implemented in South Africa. The high incidence of fumonisins in subsistence farming systems indicates the need for awareness programmes and further research.References
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2. Northern Cape Department of Agriculture and Land Reform. Maize industry: Situation analyses, market indicators and outlook for 2008 season [document on the Internet]. c2007 [cited 2009 Dec 14]. Available from: http://www.agrinc.gov.za/docs/Maize%20Outlook%202008.pdf
3. Bankole SA, Adebanjo A. Mycotoxins in food in West Africa: Current situation and possibilities of controlling it. Afr J Biotech. 2003;2:254–263.
4. Ncube E. Mycotoxin levels in subsistence farming systems in South Africa [MSc dissertation]. Stellenbosch: University of Stellenbosch; 2008.
5. Watkinson E, Makgetla N. South Africa’s food security crisis [document on the Internet]. c2002 [cited 2007 Apr 19]. Available from: http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/0000077/P93_safscrisis.pdf
6. Shephard GS, Marasas WFO, Burger H-M, et al. Exposure assessment for fumonisins in the former Transkei region of South Africa. Food Add Contam. 2007;24:621–629. doi:10.1080/02652030601101136
7. Wilke AL, Bronson CR, Tomas A, Munkvold GP. Seed transmission of Fusarium verticillioides in maize plants grown under three different temperature regimes. Plant Dis. 2007;91:1109–1115. doi:10.1094/PDIS-91-9-1109
8. Meissle M, Mouron P, Musa T, et al. Pests, pesticide use and alternative options in European maize production: Current status and future prospects. J Appl Entomol. 2010;134:357–375. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0418.2009.01491.x
9. Munkvold GP, Desjardins AE. Fumonisins in maize. Can we reduce their occurrence? Plant Dis. 1997;81:556–565. doi:10.1094/PDIS.1997.81.6.556
10. Marasas WFO. Fumonisins: History, world-wide occurrence and impact. Adv Exp Med Biol. 1996;392:1–17. PMid:8850601
11. Leslie JF. Diversity in toxigenic Fusarium species in Africa. Paper presented at: Myco-Globe 2005. Proceedings of the Conference on Reducing Impact of Mycotoxins in Tropical Agriculture with Emphasis on Health and Trade in Africa; 2005 Sept 13–26; Accra, Ghana. [homepage on the Internet]. c2005 [cited 2010 Oct 18]. Available from: http://www.ispa.cnr.it/mycoglobe/Research Article http://www.sajs.co.za S Afr J Sci 2011; 107(1/2) index.php?page=result&id=18
12. Gelderblom WCA, Jaskiewicz K, Marasas WFO, et al. Fumonisins –novel mycotoxins with cancer promoting activity produced by Fusarium moniliforme. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1988;54:1806–1811. PMid:2901247, PMCid:202749
13. Shephard GS. Mycotoxins in the context of food risks and nutrition issues. In: Barug A, Bhatnagar D, van Egmond HP, van der Kamp JW, van Osenbruggen WA, Visconti A, editors. The mycotoxin factbook. Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 2006; p. 21–36.
14. Summerell BA, Salleh B, Leslie JF. A utilitarian approach to Fusarium identification. Plant Dis. 2003;87:117–128. doi:10.1094/PDIS.2003.87.2.117
15. Thiel PG, Meyer CJ, Marasas WFO. Natural occurrence of moniliformin together with deoxynivalenol and zearalenone in Transkeian corn. J Agric Food Chem. 1982;30:308–317. doi:10.1021/jf00110a023
16. Chu FS, Li GY. Simultaneous occurrence of fumonisin B1 and other mycotoxins in mouldy corn collected from the People’s Republic of China in regions with high incidences of oesophageal cancer. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1994;60:847–852. PMid:8161178, PMCid:201401
17. Rheeder JP, Marasas WFO, Thiel PG, Sydenham EW, Shephard GS, Van Schalkwyk DJ. Fusarium moniliforme and fumonisins in corn in relation to human oesophageal cancer in Transkei. Phytopathology. 1992;82:353–357. doi:10.1094/Phyto-82-353
18. Missmer SA, Suarez L, Felkner M, et al. Exposure to fumonisins and the occurrence of neural tube defects along the Texas-Mexico border. Environ Health Persp. 2006;114:237–241. doi:10.1289/ehp.8221, PMid:16451860, PMCid:1367837
19. Glenn AE. Mycotoxigenic Fusarium species in animal feed. Anim Feed Sci Technol. 2007;137:213–240. doi:10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2007.06.003
20. Kellerman TS, Marasas WFO, Thiel PG, Gelderblom WCA, Cawood ME, Coetzer JA. Leukoencephalomalacia in two horses induced by oral dosing of fumonisin B1 . Onderst J Vet Res. 1990;57:269–275.
21. Haschek WM, Gumprecht LA, Smith G, Tumbleson ME, Constable PD. Fumonisin toxicosis in swine: An overview of porcine pulmonary edema and current perspectives. Environ Health Persp Suppl. 2001;109:251–257. doi:10.2307/3435016, PMid:11359693, PMCid:1240673
22. Van Wyk PS, Scholtz DJ, Los O. A selective medium for the isolation of Fusarium spp. from soil debris. Phytophylactica. 1986;18:67–69.
23. Leslie JF, Summerell BA. The Fusarium laboratory manual. Ames: Blackwell
24. Waalwijk C, Koch S, Ncube E, et al. Quantitative detection of fumonisin-producing Fusarium spp. and its correlation with fumonisin content in maize from South African subsistence farmers. World Mycotoxin J. 2008;1:39–47. doi:10.3920/WMJ2008.x005
25. Neogen Corporation [DVD]. Veratox® Software for Windows. Log/Logit and Single Test Format. Version 3.0.1 EU. Lansing, MI, USA. 2008.
26. Manugistics Incorporated. Statgraphics® 5 Plus. Rockville, MD, USA. 2000.
27. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Guidelines for industry: Fumonisin levels in human foods and animal feeds. Rockville: FDA; 2001.
28. European Commission (EC). Commission Regulation (EC) No 1126/2007 of 28 September 2007 amending Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs as regards Fusarium toxins in maize and maize products. Off J Eur Union. 2007;L255:14–17.
29. Marasas WFO, Kriek NPJ, Wiggins VM, Steyn PS, Towers DK, Hastie TJ. Incidence, geographic distribution, and toxicigenicity of Fusarium species in South Africa. Phytopathology. 1979;69:1181–1185. doi:10.1094/Phyto-69-1181
30. McFarlane SA, Govender P, Rutherford RS. Interactions between Fusarium species from sugarcane and the stalk borer Eldana saccharina (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Ann Appl Biol. 2009;155:349–359. doi:10.1111/j.1744-7348.2009.00345.x
31. Waalwijk C, Van der Heide R, De Vries PM, et al. Quantitative detection of Fusarium species in wheat using TaqMan. Eur J Plant Path. 2004;110:481–494. doi:10.1023/B:EJPP.0000032387.52385.13
Published
2011-01-28
Section
Research Articles