Preface

Chapter 7 **Analysis of Fusarium-Common Beans Pathosystem in**

Neha Tiwari, Seid Ahmed and Ashutosh Sarker

Muqing Zhang and John Martin Jerome Jeyakumar

Chapter 10 **Biological Control of Fusarium oxysporum in Tomato Seedling Production with Mexican Strains of Trichoderma 155**

Omar Romero Arenas, Jesús Francisco López Olguín, Dionicio Juárez

Ramón, Dora Ma. Sangerman-Jarquín, Conrado Parraguirre Lezama, Primo Sánchez Morales and Manuel Huerta Lara

Chapter 9 **Fusarium Species Complex Causing Pokkah Boeng**

José Saul Padilla-Ramírez, Roberto Ochoa-Márquez, Rigoberto Rosales-Serna, Francisco J. Ibarra-Pérez, Reinaldo Méndez-Aguilar, Sanjuana Hernández-Delgado, José Luis Chávez-Servia and

**Aguascalientes, Mexico 101**

Netzahualcoyotl Mayek-Pérez

**in China 139**

**VI** Contents

Chapter 8 **Fusarium Wilt: A Killer Disease of Lentil 119**

This book introduces the properties of the genus *Fusarium* with several aspects. The primary purposes of the book are as follows:


The book comprises 10 chapters from different countries including the USA, Mexico, Indo‐ nesia, China, India, Croatia, and Turkey. I am grateful to all the contributors, leading ex‐ perts, and my colleagues who have collaborated with me on this book project and submitted their chapters for this book on *Fusarium*. They shared their valuable experiences, scientific works, original photographs, figures, and graphics related to the topics discussed in the book. I believe that this book will be beneficial to biologists, mycologists, chemists, molecu‐ lar biologists, genetics, agriculturists, and scientists working in related fields.

I thank my family who supported me with their love and understanding. I offer my special thanks and appreciation to Ms. Kristina Kardum, the IntechOpen Author Service Manager, for her encouragement and help with recommendations for bringing out this book in the present form as well as for her concern, efforts and support in the task of publishing this volume. I also wish to express my sincere gratitude to other workers of IntechOpen for their efforts for publishing the book. I would like to thank IntechOpen for the opportunity given me to participate in this project.

> **Prof. Dr. Tulin Askun** Balikesir University Balikesir, Turkey

**Chapter 1**

**Provisional chapter**

**Introductory Chapter:** *Fusarium* **- Pathogenicity,**

**Introductory Chapter:** *Fusarium* **- Pathogenicity,** 

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

wide especially as a plant, human and animal pathogen.

(d) To discuss mycotoxin contaminations in cereals

(f) To discuss plant-*Fusarium* interactions

*Fusarium* species. The primary aims of this book are the following:

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.76507

Tulin Askun

**1. Introduction**

scribed spacer region.

infections

compounds

Tulin Askun

**Infections, Diseases, Mycotoxins and Management**

The genus *Fusarium* contains pathogens that can cause significant harm to humans, animals and plants by infecting vegetables, grains and seeds and causing diseases in humans and animals. *Fusarium oxysporum*, *F. solani* and *F. fujikuroi* complexes are of great importance world-

Identifying Fusarium species is not easy. Currently, scientists are focused on identifying *Fusarium* species using molecular techniques, such as genetic markers and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism, for analyzing the rDNA internal tran-

The aim of this book is to highlight the new information reported by numerous studies on

(b) To understand the mechanism of *Fusarium* infections and the factors that cause the

(c) To discuss *Fusarium* species-caused diseases, pathogen diversity and host range in plants

(e) To discuss plant secondary metabolites as well as anti-fungal and anti-mycotoxigenic

(g) To discuss the antagonistic activity of *Trichoderma* and *Fusarium* species

(a) To provide an overview of historical importance and taxonomy of *Fusarium* species

**Infections, Diseases, Mycotoxins and Management**

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.76507

#### **Introductory Chapter:** *Fusarium* **- Pathogenicity, Infections, Diseases, Mycotoxins and Management Introductory Chapter:** *Fusarium* **- Pathogenicity, Infections, Diseases, Mycotoxins and Management**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.76507

Tulin Askun

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Tulin AskunAdditional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.76507

**1. Introduction**

The genus *Fusarium* contains pathogens that can cause significant harm to humans, animals and plants by infecting vegetables, grains and seeds and causing diseases in humans and animals. *Fusarium oxysporum*, *F. solani* and *F. fujikuroi* complexes are of great importance worldwide especially as a plant, human and animal pathogen.

Identifying Fusarium species is not easy. Currently, scientists are focused on identifying *Fusarium* species using molecular techniques, such as genetic markers and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism, for analyzing the rDNA internal transcribed spacer region.

The aim of this book is to highlight the new information reported by numerous studies on *Fusarium* species. The primary aims of this book are the following:


h) To discuss genetic diversity, genetic resistance and molecular markers to investigate population diversity

are opportunistic pathogens, the species in the *F. solani* complex include pathogenic species [9]. *F. solani*, *F. oxysporum*, *F. verticillioides* and *F. proliferatum* infect the immune-compromised patients. Sidhu et al. [10] reported that prevalent meningospondylodiscitis in an elderly diabetic patient caused by *F. oxysporum*. *F. sacchari*, *F. anthophilum*, *F. chlamydosporum* and *F. dimerum* was also thought as related to human disease. Guendouze-Bouchefa et al. [11]

Introductory Chapter: *Fusarium* - Pathogenicity, Infections, Diseases, Mycotoxins and Management

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.76507

3

The members of *F. solani* and *F. oxysporum* species complexes are known to include the agents that cause human infections worldwide. *F. solani* can adhere to and damage the corneal membrane [12]. Some *Fusarium* species, such as *F. dimerum*, are associated with keratomycosis,

*Fusarium* mycotoxins affect the growth, reproduction and hormonal condition of the animal. The effect of these mycotoxins on animals depends on the quantity of mycotoxin intake. After intake, these mycotoxins arrive at the gastrointestinal epithelial cell layer which is covered by

Although deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisin-B1 (FB1) increase the permeability of intestinal epithelial cell layer in humans, animals and birds, they worsen the viability and proliferation of intestinal epithelial cells. High doses of mycotoxins may cause abdominal distress, diarrhea, cardiac insufficiency, emesis and even death in pigs and equine leukoencephalomalacia (ELEM) in horses [15]. Through *in vivo* and *in vitro* experimental studies, Cortinovis et al. [16] demonstrated that ZEN and its metabolites markedly up-regulated estrogen secretion in the

ZEN is closely associated with infertility, decreased milk production and hyperestrogenism [17]. Cortinovis et al. [16] reported that ZEN directly affect ovarian cells and alter oocyte maturation under in vitro conditions; conversely, under in vivo conditions, this mycotoxin affected ovulation and puberty onset and caused morphological and functional disorders. T-2 toxin (T-2) causes cutaneous lesions in the mount and intestinal membrane and reduces egg pro-

*Fusarium* mycotoxins are very common worldwide. They exist in many plants and in various compositions. The major *Fusarium* mycotoxins are FB1, trichothecenes [e.g. DON, nivalenol (NIV), T-2 and ZEN] [19–21]. The most important species that is common in Europe is *F. graminearum*. In the past, *Fusarium* genus members were mostly not considered as pathogens in the field. However, *F. proliferatum* and *F. verticillioides* are of great importance as the main producers of the most dangerous *Fusarium* mycotoxins [22, 23]. Worldwide mycotoxin occurrence in maize and wheat/bran samples with their median and maximum levels were

**5. Mycotoxins and mycotoxin-producing conditions**

reported a rare case of perinephric abscess in a child caused by *F. chlamydosporum*.

particularly in the bad hygiene conditions.

**4. Fusarium diseases in animals**

the mucous secreted from goblet cells [13, 14].

reproductive organs.

duction in poultry [18].

given in **Figure 1** [24, 25].


#### **2. Plant pathogens and cereals**

*Fusarium* attacks numerous plants and cereals that are important for human and animal nutrition. It specifically infects certain parts of them, such as grains, seedlings, heads, roots or stem, and causes various diseases, reduced commercial yield, and decrease in product quality [1]. *Fusarium* head blight (FHB) [2, 3], foot (FR) and root rot (RR) [4] and crown rot (CR) are among the major diseases caused by them. FHB produced by *F. graminearum* (teleomorph Gibberella zeae, Schwabe) causes starch and protein losses in cereals [5]. *Fusarium* species are saprophytic and are found commonly growing on the plants as a pathogen. *F. proliferatum* is a plant pathogen that is capable of infecting many important crops. *F. oxysporum* f.sp. *cubense* (FOC) causes *Fusarium* wilt, which is the most destructive disease of banana [6]. Many *Fusarium* species from the *F. solani* species complex (FSSC) are pathogenic and virulent. FSSC causes diseases in many agriculturally important crops, such as FR and/or RR of the infected host plant and causes necrosis. Symptoms, such as wilting, stunting and chlorosis, vary widely according to FSSC pathogenesis and the host plant species. Necrosis depends on the severity of fungal development [4]. Two of the most serious diseases of wheat known globally are *Fusarium* CR and *Fusarium* FHB.

Stephens et al. [7] investigated the CR disease in wheat infected by *F. graminearum* and reported that CR developed in three stages. In the first stage, the *F. graminearum* biomass significantly increased within 2 days after inoculation. At this stage, there was germination of spores and superficial hyphal growth on the leaf sheath. In the second stage, the fungal biomass significantly decreased over 2 weeks. At this stage, the fungus penetrated from the outer parts of the leaf sheath to the leaf sheath base. In the third stage, biomass of *F. graminearum* increased significantly, and this increase correlated with fungal colonization on wheat and showed that the fungal biomass was being formed as fungal colonization on wheat crown parenchyma.

#### **3. Fusarium infections in humans**

Fusarium species cause superficial, locally invasive and diffuse infections in humans. Although *Fusarium verticillioides*, including *F. moniliforme* and *F. fujikuroi* species complex [8], are opportunistic pathogens, the species in the *F. solani* complex include pathogenic species [9]. *F. solani*, *F. oxysporum*, *F. verticillioides* and *F. proliferatum* infect the immune-compromised patients. Sidhu et al. [10] reported that prevalent meningospondylodiscitis in an elderly diabetic patient caused by *F. oxysporum*. *F. sacchari*, *F. anthophilum*, *F. chlamydosporum* and *F. dimerum* was also thought as related to human disease. Guendouze-Bouchefa et al. [11] reported a rare case of perinephric abscess in a child caused by *F. chlamydosporum*.

The members of *F. solani* and *F. oxysporum* species complexes are known to include the agents that cause human infections worldwide. *F. solani* can adhere to and damage the corneal membrane [12]. Some *Fusarium* species, such as *F. dimerum*, are associated with keratomycosis, particularly in the bad hygiene conditions.
