Use of solid phase microextraction coupled to capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for screening Fusarium spp. based on their volatile sesquiterpenes

Abstract

Abstract Solid phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to capillary gas chromatography (CGC) and mass spectrometry (MS) was used to evaluate the utility of fungal volatiles to discriminate Fusarium species from wheat cultivars in the Argentina pampa region. Monosporic fungal isolates were grown on rice in sealed containers for 1 week; Volatile organic compounds (VOC) were sampled for 30 min from the head space by SPME and analyzed by CGC and CGC-MS. VOC profiles of Fusarium graminearum, F. poae, F. equiseti, F. verticillioides and F.oxysporum were discriminated by comparison of their profiles in the elution zone corresponding to sesquiterpenes. Trichothecene-producer and non-trichothecene producer Fusarium spp. were separated by the presence of trichodiene in their VOC fingerprints. Within trichothecene-producers, F. graminearum, F. poae and F. equiseti fungi differed on the structure of their volatile sesquiterpenes. This technique might be also helpful to detect F. graminearum, the major head blight disease-producing fungi in the region.