Molecular strategies for detection and quantification of mycotoxin-producing Fusarium species: a review

Fusarium contamination is considered a major agricultural problem, which could not only significantly reduce yield and quality of agricultural products, but produce mycotoxins that are virulence factors responsible for many diseases of humans and farm animals. One strategy to identify toxigenic Fusarium species is the use of modern molecular methods, which include the analysis of DNA target regions for differentiation of the Fusarium species, particularly the mycotoxin-producing Fusarium species such as F. verticillioides and F. graminearum. Additionally, polymerase chain reaction assays are used to determine the genes involved in the biosynthesis of the toxins in order to facilitate a qualitative and quantitative detection of Fusarium-producing mycotoxins. Also, it is worth mentioning that some factors that modulate the biosynthesis of mycotoxins are not only determined by their biosynthetic gene clusters, but also by environmental conditions. Therefore, all of the aforementioned factors which may affect the molecular diagnosis of mycotoxins will be reviewed and discussed in this paper.