Root diseases and their relationship to mycotoxins contamination in red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) shoots

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F26296080%3A_____%2F25%3AN0000050" target="_blank" >RIV/26296080:_____/25:N0000050 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://6thplantmicrobiomesymposium2025.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/PMS2025_AbstractBook.pdf" target="_blank" >https://6thplantmicrobiomesymposium2025.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/PMS2025_AbstractBook.pdf</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Root diseases and their relationship to mycotoxins contamination in red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) shoots

Original language description

Root and crown diseases limit red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) cultivation by reducing green biomass, silage quality, and seed yield. In the Czech Republic, key soil-borne pathogens include Fusarium spp., Sclerotinia trifoliorum, Rhizoctonia spp., and Thielaviopsis basicola. Infected plants often show poor overwintering, weak spring regrowth, and dieback. Fusarium-infected red clover may lack early visible symptoms but harmful mycotoxins are still produced (fumonisins, trichothecenes, and zearalenone) which degrade forage quality and can accumulate in livestock. While the link between Fusarium infection and mycotoxin content is well-studied in cereals, it remains understudied in red clover, partly due to subtle infection symptoms and possible systemic movement of mycotoxins in the plant. This study evaluates the correlation between Fusarium infection in red clover roots and crowns and mycotoxin levels in aboveground tissues. Detecting such a correlation could enable visual or molecular assessments of root and crown infection to predict biomass contamination. A total of 557 red clover plants, grown under controlled conditions (12/12 light/dark, 25°C/15°C), were inoculated with Fusarium culmorum and F. poae. Plants were harvested at flowering stage. Pathogen DNA was extracted from homogenized root and crown tissues and quantified by quantitative real-time PCR with species-specific primers. Quantification of mycotoxins (zearalenone, fumonisin, and T-2/HT-2) was determined from dried aboveground biomass by ELISA. It is hypothesized that Fusarium infection levels in roots and crowns correlate with mycotoxin content in shoots. If confirmed, this could enable estimate of forage contamination through visual or molecular diagnostics.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

O - Miscellaneous

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

40106 - Agronomy, plant breeding and plant protection; (Agricultural biotechnology to be 4.4)

Project

<a href="/en/project/TQ03000327" target="_blank" >TQ03000327: Detection of important fungal pathogens of red clover root and their correlation with mycotoxin content</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)<br>I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů