Fusarium population in syrian wheat seeds.

Wheat is one of the main crops in Mediterranean countries and Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) is considered an important disease in the Mediterranean basin and worldwide (Stack, 1999; Logrieco et al., 2003). The causal agents are different Fusarium species, responsible for losses in grain quantity and quality as well as mycotoxin accumulation (i.e. deoxynivalenol - DON). Mycotoxin concentration in food and feed is strictly regulated by EU, since high levels are responsible for health hazards to humans and animals (Logrieco et al., 2003). Wheat cultivation (year 2007, 1667732 ha) has an important role in Syrian economy, but there are no published records on the epidemiological and etiological aspects of FHB syndrome. Based on these premises, we performed in vitro analysis on samples of wheat kernels (durum and bread), coming from different Syrian cultivated areas, being the seeds one of the main ways for FHB spread. Four hundred kernels per sample were analyzed following the methodology described by Prodi et al. (2009). All different fungal genera present on the kernels were identified at light microscope according to descriptions by Domsch et al. (1980). The Fusarium species were morphologically identified (Leslie and Summerell, 2006) and for some of them PCR techniques, using specific primers, were applied to confirm the morphological identification. The data obtained revealed that Alternaria and Cladosporium were the most frequent fungal genera isolated in the kernel samples examined while Fusarium spp. were present in low percentage. F. culmorum, F. equiseti-incarnatum complex, F. oxysporum and F. tricinctum were the species found. The strains of F. culmorum, one of the most common worldwide pathogens for FHB, were examined for chemotypes based on the presence of gene for mono- acetylated DON derivatives (3-ADON, 15-ADON) and nivalenol (NIV).