Identification and heritability of fumonisin insensitivity in Zea mays

Landraces of maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) and its wild teosinte relatives (Zea mays spp. parviglumis and mexicana) were surveyed for sensitivity to fumonisin B-1, a phytotoxin produced by the maize pathogen Gibberella moniliformis. Only two of 42 Z. mays samples were highly insensitive to FBI (ED50 = ca. 200 mu m). The teosintes and 76% of the maize landraces were moderately or highly sensitive to FBI (ED50 <= 30 mu M), which indicates that FB1 sensitivity is likely to be an ancestral trait in Z. mays. F-1 generations derived from crosses between FBI-sensitive maize inbred B73 and insensitive landraces were significantly less sensitive than B73. Thus, our data indicate that FB1-insensitivity is a relatively rare but heritable trait in maize. We also report the sensitivity of maize to other Gibberella toxins-beauvericin, diacetoxyscirpenol, and moniliformin. Published by Elsevier Ltd.