Identification of a cis-acting factor modulating the transcription of FUM1, a key fumonisin-biosynthetic gene in the fungal maize pathogen Fusarium verticillioides.

Fumonisins, toxic secondary metabolites produced by some Fusarium spp. and Aspergillus niger, have strong agro-economic and health impacts. The genes needed for their biosynthesis, named FUM, are clustered and co-expressed in fumonisin producers.

Transcription of genes in the biosynthetic pathway for fumonisin mycotoxins is epigenetically and differentially regulated in the fungal maize pathogen Fusarium verticillioides.

When the fungal pathogen Gibberella moniliformis (anamorph, Fusarium verticillioides) colonizes maize and maize-based products, it produces class B fumonisin (FB) mycotoxins, which are a significant threat to human and animal health. FB biosynthetic enzymes and accessory proteins are encoded by a set of clustered and cotranscribed genes collectively named FUM, whose molecular regulation is beginning to be unraveled by researchers. FB accumulation correlates with the amount of transcripts from the key FUM genes, FUM1, FUM21, and FUM8.