Suppression of sporulation, pigmentation and zearalenone production in Fusarium culmorum by 6-demethylmevinolin, an inhibitor of the aflatoxin B1 biosynthesis

Fusarium fungi are species infecting various crops and plant products. They produce a wide range of mycotoxins including zearalenone (ZEN) known t contaminate food and feed which causes significant economic losses. ZEN is synthesized via the polyketide pathway. It has been reported that 6-Demethylmevinolin (6-DMM), a secondary metabolite of Penicillium citrinum, can suppress the biosynthesis of aflatoxin B1, which is another polyketide mycotoxin. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the effects of 6-DMM on sporulation, pigmentation and ZEN production by Fusarium culmorum strain M-01-55/3. Supplementation of medium with 50 µg/mL 6-DMM resulted in 93.0±1.1% and 40% reduction of ZEN biosynthesis and mycelium growth, respectively. With regard to the liquid medium, some discoloration was observed when 50 µg/mL 6-DMM was added. While for solid medium, such effect was observed already in the presence of 8 µg/mL 6-DMM. An amount of 20 µg/mL 6-DMM effectively suppressed spore formation on solid medium. Abundant sporulation was observed in the control variant. Therefore, we have successfully demonstrated the ability of 6-DMM to suppress sporulation, pigmentation and biosynthesis of ZEN in F. culmorum. It is evident from our results that 6-DMM can significantly reduce the biosynthesis of different polyketide mycotoxins and is a promising agent which could be used to prevent mycotoxin accumulation in food and feed products.