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. 2024 Jul 31;16(8):337.
doi: 10.3390/toxins16080337.

Seed Priming with Rhizospheric Bacillus subtilis: A Smart Strategy for Reducing Fumonisin Contamination in Pre-Harvest Maize

Muhtarima Jannat  1 , Shah Tasdika Auyon  2 , Abu Sina Md Tushar  1 , Sadia Haque Tonny  1 , Md Hasibul Hasan  1 , Mangal Shahi  1 , Uday Rana Singha  3 , Ayesha Sultana  3 , Sabera Akter  3 , Md Rashidul Islam  1
Affiliations

Seed Priming with Rhizospheric Bacillus subtilis: A Smart Strategy for Reducing Fumonisin Contamination in Pre-Harvest Maize

Muhtarima Jannat et al. Toxins (Basel). .

Abstract

Maize, one of the most important cereal crops in Bangladesh, is severely contaminated by fumonisin, a carcinogenic secondary metabolite produced by Fusarium including Fusarium proliferatum. Biocontrol with Bacillus strains is an effective approach to controlling this F. proliferatum as Bacillus has proven antagonistic properties against this fungus. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine how native Bacillus strains can reduce fumonisin in maize cultivated in Bangladesh, where BDISO76MR (Bacillus subtilis) strains showed the highest efficacy both in vitro in detached cob and in planta under field conditions. The BDISO76MR strain could reduce the fumonisin concentration in detached cob at 98.52% over untreated control, by inhibiting the conidia germination and spore formation of F. proliferatum at 61.56% and 77.01%, respectively in vitro. On the other hand, seed treatment with formulated BDISO76MR showed higher efficacy with a reduction of 97.27% fumonisin contamination compared to the in planta cob inoculation (95.45%) over untreated control. This implies that Bacillus-based formulation might be a potential approach in mitigating fumonisin contamination in maize to ensure safe food and feed.

Keywords: Bacillus; Fusarium proliferatum; biological control; field experiment; fumonisin; maize; mycotoxin.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
In vitro growth inhibition of Fusarium proliferatum on inoculated maize cobs by Bacillus spp. (BDISO01RR: Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, BDISO76MR: Bacillus subtilis, BDISO36PR: Bacillus subtilis, BDISO45PR: Bacillus subtilis and BDISO49PR: Bacillus subtilis). Untreated control: Sterile water. Photographs were taken 7 days after inoculation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Morphological changes in F. proliferatum hyphae by Bacillus (B. subtilis and B. amyloliquefacience), observed under a compound microscope (40× magnification) at 7 DAI (A) Control, (B) BDISO01RR (B. amyloliquefacience), and (C) BDISO76MR (B. subtilis).
Figure 3
Figure 3
In vitro effect of Bacillus strains on conidial germination of F. proliferatum after 24 h incubation ((E) BDISO01RR (B. amyloliquefaciense) (F) BDISO76MR (B. subtillis)). The Conidia germination was assessed based on (A) non-germinated conidia (no hyphae), (B) germinated conidia with half hyphae, (C) germinated conidia with full hyphae, and (D) control (observed under a compound microscope (40× magnification)).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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