Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Accomplishments: 

During 2020, many proprietary products (clay, yeast cell wall) were tested for their ability to bind mycotoxins (aflatoxin, vomitoxin, zearalenone, ochratoxin A, T-2 toxin, fumonisin B1, and ergot alkaloids) at pH 3.0 and 6.5 in our in vitroassays. A few of these products proved to be very promising for future in vivo studies in poultry, swine, and dairy cattle. Fungal culture materials containing high levels of mycotoxins (aflatoxin, zearalenone, ochratoxin A, vomitoxin) were produced, and aflatoxin culture material was utilized for in vivo studies in swine.

Four undergraduates and one master student from the Nutrition and Bioengineer Departments at the University of Missouri conducted all the in vitro assays, made the fungal culture materials. During 10-month work, they gained valuable experience working in an analytical laboratory and became very proficient at operating high-performance liquid chromatography equipment for conducting their analyses.

Two PhD students in Nebraska conducted studies leading to three publications and a PCR method which is undergoing validation studies. PCR primers were developed and validated for a rapid, multiplexed test for identification of FHB organisms occurring in the US.

Data collected: Species causing Fusarium head blight in wheat in Nebraska were identified and delineated, including multiple collections of Fusarium boothii, new to the Nebraska, and to wheat in the US, and F. boothii-F. graminearum hybrids. Fusarium boothii was shown to be present in multiple counties in Nebraska. F. boothii isolates produce 15-ADON, as do all F. graminearum isolates tested, and exhibit low to moderate virulence on susceptible wheat compared with F. graminearum isolates. F. graminearum isolates exhibit a wide range of virulence on susceptible wheat.

A study involving two wheat cultivars, fungicide treatments, watering regime, and grain storage under different conditions showed higher levels of DON in strobilurin-treated grain than in triazole treated or untreated control grain, and expression of DON biosynthetic genes (and the fungal housekeeping gene GAPDH) throughout 120 days of storage.

Impacts: 

Results from in vitro and in vivo studies were reported to the commercial feed industry. This information was used to develop new and improve products for commercialization. Through these companies, the information disseminated to target communities (livestock and poultry producers, veterinarians, allied industry, and research professionals) via conference presentations and peer-reviewed journal articles.

In the coming year, we have many in vitro and in vivo mycotoxin projects planned for evaluating the efficacy of proprietary adsorbents and naturally occurring antioxidants in livestock. The laboratory will continue to evaluate proprietary adsorbents and continue to produce fungal culture material, especially vomitoxin, for in vivo mycotoxin studies as well as provide analytical expertise to analyze samples generated by these projects.

The PCR assay developed for identification of species causing FHB has been shared with the USDA lab at Peoria and tested for specificity, with promising results. The forthcoming methods publication will aid in rapid, cost-effective identification of FHB organisms without the need for DNA sequencing.

Publications: 

1. Smiljanic D, Gennaro B, Izzo F, Langella A, Dakovic A, Germinario C, Rottinghaus GE, Spasojevic M, and Mercurio M. Removal of emerging contaminants from water by zeolite-rich composites: A first approach aiming at diclofenac and ketoprofen. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials 298:110057, 2020.
2. Spasojevic M, Dakovic A, Rottinghaus GE, Obradovic M, Krajisnik D, Markovic M, Krstic J. Influence of surface coverage of kaolin with surfactant ions on adsorption of ochratoxin A and zearalenone. Applied Clay Science205:106040, 2021. 
3. Bolanos-Carriel C, Wegulo SN, Baenziger PS, Funnell-Harris D, Hallen-Adams HE, Eskridge KM. 2020. Effects of fungicide chemical class, fungicide application timing, and environment on Fusarium head blight on winter wheat. European Journal of Plant Pathology158:667-67,
4. Valverde-Bogantes E, Bolanos-Carriel C, Hallen-Adams HE, McMaster N, Schmale DG III, Wegulo SN. 2020. Aggressiveness and deoxynivalenol production of Nebraska isolates for Fusarium boothiiand  graminearum. Plant Health Progress 21:97-102, 2020.
5. Valverde-Bogantes E, Bianchini A, Wegulo SN, Hallen-Adams HE. Species and trichothecene genotype of pathogens causing Fusarium head blight of wheat in Nebraska, USA. Plant Health Progress 22:509-515,