Toxicity and Fumonisin B1 Production by Fusarium Isolates from Chines Corn Samples

중국산 옥수수로부터 분리한 Fusarium균주의 독성 및 Fumonisin B1의 생성

Ninety-two isolates of Fusarium species were obtained from Chinese corn samples. The predominant Fusarium species isolated from corn seeds were F. moniliforme, F. proliferatum, F. oxysporum and F. subglutinans, and all 13 species were identified. Each isolate was grown on autoclaved wheat grains and wheat cultures were fed by twenty-one-day-old female rats for the toxicity test. Twenty-six out of 92 isolates caused the death accompanying feed refusal, severe weight loss, liver damage, and hemorrhages in the stomach and intestines. Of the toxigenic isolates, 17 isolates of F. moniliforme, 4 of F. oxysporum, 3 of F. proliferatum, and one of each F. sporotrichioides and unknown species were lethal to rats. The analyses of fumonisin B1 production of the 26 toxigenic Fusarium isolates were carried out by thin layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography, and fumonisin B1 was confirmed by mass spectrometry. Fumonisin B1 was produced in wheat culture at levels ranging from 280 $\mu\textrm{g}$/g to 3,952 $\mu\textrm{g}$/g by all of toxigenic F. moniliforme and F. proliferatum, but by none of the other toxigenic Fusarium species. The present results suggest the high possibility of natural occurrence of fumonisin B1 in corn samples imported from China.