Potential for Fumonisin Production by the Strains of Gibberella fujikuroi Species Complex Isolated from Maize Produced in Uganda

The study investigated the fumonisin production potential of 25 isolates of Gibberella fujikuroi species complex isolated from freshly harvested maize produced in Uganda. Twenty three out of the 25 isolates tested were able to produce fumonisins. The total fumonisin production varied between 19.4 and 99.8 mg kg-1. Majority of the isolates were high fumonisin producers. The ability to produce fumonisins varied amongst the isolates tested. Strains identified as Gibberella moniliformis (GU257904.1) and Gibberella fujikuroi (EU979565.1) were generally higher fumonisin producers (39.9-99.8 mg kg-1) compared to those identified as Gibberella moniliformis (FJI54074.1) (0-24.9 mg kg-1). The order of fumonisin production was G. moniliformis >G. fujikuroi >Fusarium proliferatum. Seven strains (MRC 9059, MRC 9063, MRC 9054, MRC 9053, MRC 9067, MRC 9055 and MRC 9066) produced higher amounts of total fumonisins than the reference strain (MRC 826). Some unidentified species (MRC 9061, MRC 9051 and MRC 9064) also produced high fumonisins levels of 87.9, 84.3 and 58.4 mg kg-1, respectively. The findings of this study indicated that the G. fujikuroi species associated with maize produced in Uganda are high fumonisin producers. These findings emphasize the need to put in place measures to control contamination of maize and maize based products with fumonisins.