Detection of fumonisin among different strains of Fusarium spp. associated with bakanae disease of rice (Oryza sativa L.) using molecular markers

Bakanae disease caused by Fusarium fujikuroi of basmati rice causes huge economic losses varying with varieties produced, with a frequency of 3.0-95.4%. The Fusarium spp. associated with bakanae disease produce fumonisins, a group of structurally similar sphingosine analogue mycotoxins, among which Fumonisin B1 is the most prevalent and active (FB1). The worst harm to both people and animal wellbeing is created by fumonisins, which infect feed and food sources. IARC, a global organization dedicated to cancer research, classified FB1 as a potential causing human cancer (Group 2B). Altogether 26 strains of Fusarium spp. from bakanae infected  samples of various popular basmati rice varieties collected from Hisar, Jind, Fatehabad, Bhiwani, Sirsa, Panipat, Sonipat, Karnal, Yamunanagar, Kaithal and Kurukshetra (eleven) districts of Haryana state. Two specific primers namely VERTF and polyketide synthase (PKS) (involved in fumonisin biosynthesis) FUM (rp 32 and rp 33) were utilized in this investigation to differentiation between fumonisin-producing and non-producing strains employing PCR technique. Twenty-two strains were significant for the VERTF primer and showed the capacity to generate fumonisin, while four isolates evaluated negative for both primers. The FUM specific primer displayed positive respose only in nine strains and rest were negative. The present study provides a rapid and specific method that helped in accurate differentiation between fumonisin-producing and non-producing strains.