Leaf Mycobiome and Mycotoxin Profile of Warm-Season Grasses Structured by Plant Species, Geography, and Apparent Black-Stroma Fungal Structure.

Grasses harbor diverse fungi, including some that produce mycotoxins or other secondary metabolites. Recently, Florida cattle farmers reported cattle illness, while the cattle were grazing on warm-season grass pastures, that was not attributable to common causes, such as nutritional imbalances or nitrate toxicity. To understand correlations between grass mycobiome and mycotoxin production, we investigated the mycobiomes associated with five prominent, perennial forage and weed grasses [Paspalum notatum Flügge, Cynodon dactylon (L.

Effects of Deoxynivalenol and Fumonisins Fed in Combination to Beef Cattle: Immunotoxicity and Gene Expression.

We evaluated the effects of a treatment diet contaminated with 1.7 mg deoxynivalenol and 3.5 mg fumonisins (B1, B2 and B3) per kg ration on immune status and peripheral blood gene expression profiles in finishing-stage Angus steers.

Case-Control Study of Nodding Syndrome in Acholiland: Urinary Multi-Mycotoxin Screening.

This case-control study adds to the growing body of knowledge on the medical, nutritional, and environmental factors associated with Nodding Syndrome (NS), a seizure disorder of children and adolescents in northern Uganda. Past research described a significant association between NS and prior history of measles infection, dependence on emergency food and, at head nodding onset, subsistence on moldy maize, which has the potential to harbor mycotoxins. We used LC-MS/MS to screen for current mycotoxin loads by evaluating nine analytes in urine samples from age-and-gender matched NS cases (n = 50) and Community Controls (CC, n = 50).

Molecular and Alkaloid Characterization of Sensu Lato From Grass Seed Production Areas of the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

Ergot, caused by sensu lato, is an economically important seed replacement disease of Kentucky bluegrass () and perennial ryegrass () seed crops. sensu stricto is considered the primary species responsible, but genetic diversity and cryptic species within sensu lato have previously been reported. Fifty-six sensu lato isolates collected from ( = 21) and ( = 35) in Oregon and Washington between 2010 and 2014 were characterized via random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), partial internal transcribed spacer (ITS), β-tubulin and elongation factor-1α (EF-1α) sequences, conidial size, and ergot alkaloid chemotype.

Mortality of Potato Psyllid (Hemiptera: Triozidae) on Host Clippings Inoculated With Ergot Alkaloids.

Our previous study provided correlative evidence that morning glory species harboring endophytic fungi (Periglandula) are resistant to potato psyllid [Bactericera cockerelli (Šulc)], whereas species free of fungi often allowed psyllid development. In this study, we manipulated levels of ergot alkaloids in host tissues by inoculating clippings from potato plants with extracts from morning glories that harbor Periglandula [Ipomoea leptophylla Torrey, Ipomoea imperati (Vahl) Grisebach, Ipomoea tricolor Cavanilles, Ipomoea pandurata (L.) G.