Chlorophyll content in maize plants after treatment with fusariotoxins

The aim of this study was to prove the effect of fusariotoxins on maize plants. Two-week-old plants of two cultivars with different susceptibility to Fusarium infection were used to study chlorophyll a, b contents after toxins treatment. Moniliformin (MF), fumonisin B-1 (FB1), fusaproliferin (FP), zearalenone (ZEN) and deoxynivalenol (DON) were added to root medium of intact plants at concentration 30 mug mL(-1), or directly to chlorophyll extracts at concentration 20 mug mL(-1). The greatest decrease in chlorophyll content in vivo caused ZEN and FP in both tested cultivars and DON only in the susceptible one. On the other hand the treatments with FB1 and in susceptible cultivar also with MF have led to increase in chlorophyll content. Depending on toxin, there were slight differences between the cultivars. When toxins were added directly to the chlorophyll extracts, the greatest decrease in chlorophyll a content was induced by MF, followed by FB1 and FP. After treatment with DON and ZEN chlorophyll content reduction did not rearch the level in controls. Recently isolated FP in vitro acted similarly as toxins with the well known phytotoxic properties (MF, FB1) and in vivo as DON and ZEN.