Mycotoxins and spoilage
Spoilage of crops due to mycotoxins is an invisible process and can become a serious problem in both food and feed.
In small grain crops mycotoxins are mainly caused by species in the genus Fusarium. If toxin levels exceed set threshold values the crop cannot be used for human or animal consumption. The hygienic quality of fodder, such as haylage, can be also be spoiled by fungi that act as allergens.
Fusarium head blight in wheat (photo by Magdalena Grudzinska Sterno).
The goals with our research are to:
- Identify and quantify key factors affecting production of mycotoxins by Fusarium spp. and other fungi in small grains. Such factors are e.g. crop rotation, tillage system, cultivars grown and the influence of weather.
- Map the fungal flora in Swedish grass haylage where some moulds could be potent mycotoxin producers or have other effects on quality, and assess the hygienic quality.
- Investigate the role of mycotoxins in fungal-fungal interactions. We work with resistance mechanisms in Clonostachys rosea against Fusarium mycotoxins, and how it determines the outcome of biocontrol interactions.
Projects:
Fusarium fungi and mycotoxins in winter wheat
Magdalena Grudzinska Sterno, Annika Djurle & Jonathan Yuen
Fungi in haylage
Jessica Schenck, Cecilia Müller, Rolf Spörndly, Annika Djurle & Dan Funck Jensen
Three way interactions between Fusarium species, their plant hosts and biocontrol organisms
Chatchai Kosawang, Magnus Karlsson & Dan Funck Jensen