Fusarium Infection in Wheat, Aggressiveness and Changes in Grain Quality: A Review

LEONEL ORTEGA; ALCONADA TERESA; MOURE CANDELA

VEGETOS

SOC PLANT RESEARCH

Año: 2019 vol. 32 p. 441 - 449

0970-4078

Fusarium Head Blight, one of the most devasting diseases onsmall-grain cereals, has caused severe epidemics worldwide,altering yield and quality parameters of grains andcontaminating them with fungal toxins. The aggressiveness ofFusarium spp. could be ascribed to different mechanisms, suchas the production and release of extracellular plant-cell-walldegradingenzymes and proteases which are crucial in theprocesses of fungal colonization and disease establishment.Once infection is established, mycotoxins are released, andthey interfere with the metabolism of the host. Wheat grainsdamaged by Fusarium graminearum present changes in theircell structure and in the composition of carbohydrate, proteinand starch granules of the endosperm, which modify theirphysical and chemical properties, altering the desired qualitycharacteristics for baked goods. The protein content of wheat isone of the main determinants of its commercial value since theindustrial quality of the grain depends on the concentration andtype of its proteins. To evaluate the quality and end use of flour,laboratories and industries use different techniques to analyzeits protein content. Since yield and quality of wheat grainsdepend on the genetic of cultivars, environment and level ofinfection in the harvested grains, this review focuses on themain events related to the infection by Fusarium and theevaluation of the disease from grains and flour. Specialattention to changes in the protein fraction are discusses, dueto its direct relationship with the commercial value.