Timing of Fusarium Head Blight Infection in Rice by Heading Stage

Fusarium graminearum causes the devastating plant disease Fusarium head blight and produces mycotoxins on small cultivated grains. To investigate the timeframe of F. graminearum infection during rice cultivation, a spore suspension of F. graminearum was applied to the rice cultivars Dongjin 1 and Nampyeongbyeo before and after the heading stage. The disease incidence rate was the highest (50%) directly after heading, when the greatest number of flowers were present, while only 10% of the rice infected 30 days after heading showed symptoms. To understand the mechanism of infection, an F. graminearum strain expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) was inoculated, and the resulting infections were visually examined. Spores were found in all areas between the glume and inner seed, with the largest amount of GFP detected in the aleurone layer. When the inner part of the rice seed was infected, the pathogen was mainly observed in the embryo. These results suggest that F. graminearum migrates from the anthers to the ovaries and into the seeds during the flowering stage of rice. This study will contribute to uncovering the infection process of this pathogen in rice.

The Effect of Seed-borne Mycoflora from Sorghum and Foxtail Millet Seeds on Germination and Disease Transmission

The seed-borne mycoflora of sorghum and foxtail millet collected from different growing areas in South Korea were isolated and taxonomically identified using dry inspection, standard blotter and the agar plate method. We investigated the in vitro and in vivo germination rates of disinfected and non-disinfected seeds of sorghum and foxtail millet using sterilized and unsterilized soil. The percent recovery of seed-borne mycoflora from the seed components of sorghum and foxtail millet seeds was determined and an infection experiment using the dominant species was evaluated for seedling emergence and mortality. A higher number of seed-borne fungi was observed in sorghum compared to that of foxtail millet. Eighteen fungal genera with 34 fungal species were identified from the seeds of sorghum and 13 genera with 22 species were identified from the seeds of foxtail millet. Five dominant species such as Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, Curvularia lunata, Fusarium moniliforme and Phoma sp. were recorded as seed-borne mycoflora in sorghum and 4 dominant species (Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, Curvularia lunata, Fusarium moniliforme) were observed in foxtail millet. The in vitro and in vivo germination rates were higher using disinfected seeds and sterilized soil. More seed-borne fungi were recovered from the pericarp compared to the endosperm and seed embryo. The percent recovery of seed-borne fungi ranged from 2.22% to 60.0%, and Alternaria alternata, Curvularia lunata and 4 species of Fusarium were isolated from the endosperm and embryo of sorghum and foxtail millet. Inoculation of the dominant seed-borne fungi showed considerable mortality of seedlings. All the transmitted seed-borne fungi might well be a primary source of infection of sorghum and foxtail millet crops.