Home • Fusarium acuminatum F829 v1.0
Left – tree showing phylogenetic relationships of the 23 Fusarium species complexes and placement of F. acuminatum within the F. tricinctum species complex. In the tree, species complex names are abbreviated using specific epithets of the species after which the complexes are named (e.g., the F. sambucinum species complex is abbreviated as sambucinum). Middle left – karyotype of F. acuminatum. Middle right – culture of F. acuminatum strain F829 growing on potato dextrose agar medium. Bottom – chemical structures of enniatins and moniliformin, two mycotoxins produced by F. acuminatum. [Image credit: Robert H. Proctor, Amy McGovern and Crystal Probyn]
Left – tree showing phylogenetic relationships of the 23 Fusarium species complexes and placement of F. acuminatum within the F. tricinctum species complex. In the tree, species complex names are abbreviated using specific epithets of the species after which the complexes are named (e.g., the F. sambucinum species complex is abbreviated as sambucinum). Middle left – karyotype of F. acuminatum. Middle right – culture of F. acuminatum strain F829 growing on potato dextrose agar medium. Bottom – chemical structures of enniatins and moniliformin, two mycotoxins produced by F. acuminatum. [Image credit: Robert H. Proctor, Amy McGovern and Crystal Probyn]

Fusarium acuminatum F829

Fusarium (family Nectriaceae) is a species-rich genus that poses a dual threat to agriculture production because many species cause destructive crop diseases and/or contaminate infected crops with toxic secondary metabolites (mycotoxins) that are health hazards to humans and other animals. Fusarium mycotoxins are frequent contaminants of dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), a coproduct of grain-based ethanol production that is used as protein-rich livestock feed. Some Fusarium species can also exist in plants as endophytes.

DNA-based phylogenetic analyses have resolved Fusarium into 23 multi-species lineages, or species complexes (Geiser et al. 2021). Fusarium acuminatum is a member of the Fusarium tricinctum species complex, which is comprised of at least 36 phylogenetically distinct species (Laraba et al. 2022). Some members of this complex are emerging as significant pathogens of multiple economically important crops, including small-grain cereals, dried legumes (pulses) and apple. Although members of the complex do not produce the major Fusarium mycotoxins fumonisins and trichothecenes, they produce enniatins and moniliformin, which are mycotoxins whose impacts on health are poorly understood. Some members of the complex also produce the fumonisin-like metabolite 2-amino-14,16-dimethyl-octadecan-3-ol. F. acuminatum strain F829 was isolated from barley (Hordeum vulgare) grown in Spain.

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