Localization of hyphal growth associated with mycotoxin production during the malting of Fusarium head blight infected grains

ABSTRACT Fusarium head blight (FHB) and the occurrence of mycotoxins is the largest food safety threat to malting and brewing grains. Objectives of the current study were to localize the growth of Fusarium within FHB infected kernels and to associate it with the production of DON that occurred during malting. FHB infected barley, wheat, rye, and triticale grains that exhibited large increases in Fusarium Tri5 DNA and trichothecene mycotoxins following malting, were screened for hyphal localization. The growth of hyphae, both on the surface of kernels and within tissues of grain and malt was, imagined by scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy assisted with WGA-Alexa Fluor 488 pre-staining, respectively. In barley, hyphae were primarily present on or within husk, vascular bundle, and pericarp cavities. Following malting, large amounts of hyphal growth were observed in not only these regions, but also in the aleurone layer, endosperm, and embryo. Extensive fungal growth was also observed following malting of wheat, rye, and triticale. Interestingly, these grains already had an extensive internal presence of hyphae in unmalted grain, occurring in the pericarp, testa, vascular bundle, nucellar projection, aleurone layer, endosperm, pericarp and endosperm cavities, and embryo. Shotgun sequencing followed by metagenomics analysis verified that Fusarium spp. accounted for above 90% of the fungal hyphae growing in the interior of grains during malting, which coincided with the significant production of mycotoxins.