• Authors:
    • Irene, N.
    • Methner, F.
    • Koch, M.
    • Riess, S.
    • Muller, C.
    • Maul, R.
  • Source: Food Chemistry
  • Volume: 131
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: In food, the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) often occurs in conjunction with its 3-beta-D-glucopyranoside (D3G). The transformation of DON to D3G through glucosylation is catalysed by plant enzymes, however, the exact circumstances are not well understood. In order to investigate the role of enzymatic glucosylation in germinating grains, DON treated kernels were steeped and germinated under laboratory conditions. Furthermore, the effect of malting on the DON content of the contaminated barley was investigated. In all cases, DON and its derivatives were quantified by HPLC-MS/MS before, during and after the experiments. Amongst the six tested cereals; wheat, rye, barley, spelt, and millet transformed DON to D3G during germination whilst the oats were inactive. For wheat, barley, and spelt the initial DON content was reduced by 50%, with the loss being almost entirely accounted for by D3G formation. As D3G might be cleaved during digestion, the elevated D3G concentration may obscure the toxicologically relevant DON content in processed food and beer. The germination process has a major influence on the "masking" of DON, leading to high quantities of D3G that may be missed in common mycotoxin analyses.
  • Authors:
    • Paliwal, J.
    • Mebatsion, H.
    • Jayas, D.
  • Source: Biosystems Engineering
  • Volume: 111
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: An algorithm to classify cereal grains, namely: barley, oats, rye and wheat (Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) and Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS)) based on grain kernel shapes using invariant elliptic Fourier descriptors (IEFDs) was developed. Boundary contours were extracted from the digital images of kernels, expressed as chain-coded points and then approximated by 13 Fourier harmonics. After normalisation of the size, rotation and starting point of the contours, the IEFDs were determined. Based on the first three IEFDs, perfect classification was achieved for barley, CWAD, CWRS and rye. The classification accuracies of oats were 99.7% and 100% for the first three and five IEFDs, respectively.
  • Authors:
    • Bem, C.
    • Horst, T.
    • Agnolin, C.
    • Fontaneli, R.
    • Olivo, C.
    • Meinerz, G.
  • Source: REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE ZOOTECNIA-BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE
  • Volume: 41
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: The objective of this research was to evaluate early growth, yield and canopy characteristics of 12 genotypes of six species of winter cereals with double purpose (forage and grains) submitted to harvest at Depressao Central region of Rio Grande do Sul state, South Region of Brazil. Species and genotypes tested were: BRS 277, BRS Guatambu, BRS Taruma and BRS Umbu wheat; Agro Zebu, UPFA 21 - Moreninha and Commom black-oat; UPF 18 white-oat; BR 1 and BRS Serrano rye; BRS Marciana barley; and BRS 148 triticale. The genotypes were distributed in 36 experimental plots, in a completely randomized design with 12 treatments, three replications and repeated measure. Studied variables were herbage mass, botanical and structural composition, forage and grains production. The earliest genotypes for forage production were BR 1 rye and BRS 148 triticale. BRS Taruma wheat presented higher forage and leaf blade production. BRS Umbu wheat presented higher grains yield and hectoliter weight. Among the genotypes evaluated, BRS Taruma wheat is the most suitable for double purpose in Depressao Central region of Rio Grande do Sul state.
  • Authors:
    • Urminska, D.
    • Socha, P.
    • Mickowska, B.
    • Cieslik, E.
  • Source: Journal of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Food Sciences
  • Volume: 1
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: The aim of this study was to compare the prolamin complex of several varieties of cereals: 16 varieties of wheat (including common, durum and spelt wheat), 8 varieties of barley, 3 varieties of triticale and 1 variety of rye. In amino acids composition the major part represent glutamic acid in all type of prolamins (38-43%) but there were some differences between content of proline (in wheat and triticale it was 17%, in rye 20% but in barley 25%). By ELISA based on monoclonal antibody R5 it was showed positive reaction in relation to coeliac disease active peptides. Immunoblot based on polyclonal gluten antibody detected only proteins with molecular weight higher than 35 kDa.
  • Authors:
    • Dobrovolny, P.
    • Brazdil, R.
    • Mozny, M.
    • Trnka, M.
  • Source: Climatic Change
  • Volume: 110
  • Issue: 3/4
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Cereal crop harvests reflect the weather patterns of the period immediately preceding them, and thus the dates at which they begin may be used as a source of proxy data on regional climate. Using systematic phenological observations in the Czech Lands (now known as the Czech Republic) after 1845, together with exploration of further surviving documentary evidence (chronicles, diaries, financial accounts etc.), it has proved possible to create series of winter wheat harvest dates for the period 1501-2008. Employing linear regression, the harvesting dates of the main cereal species (wheat, rye, barley, oats) were first converted to winter wheat harvest days and then normalised to the same altitude above sea level. The next step consisted of using series of winter wheat harvest dates to reconstruct mean March-June temperatures in the Czech Republic, applying standard palaeoclimatological methods. Series reconstructed by linear regression explain 70% of temperature variability. A profound cold period corresponding with late winter wheat harvests was noted between 1659 and 1705. In contrast, warm periods (i.e. early winter wheat harvests) were found for the periods of 1517-1542, 1788-1834 and 1946-2008. The period after 1951 is the warmest of all throughout the entire 1501-2008 period. Comparisons with other European temperature reconstructions derived from documentary sources (including grape harvest dates), tree-rings and instrumental data reveal generally close agreement, with significant correlations. Lower correlations around A.D. 1650 and 1750 may be partly related to deterioration of socio-economic conditions in the Czech Lands resulting from prolonged wars. The results obtained demonstrate that it is possible to use widely-available cereal harvest data for climate analysis and also that such data constitute an independent proxy data series for the region of Central Europe crucial to further studies of the potential impact of climatic variability and climate change on agriculture.
  • Authors:
    • Hirata, T.
    • Komatsuzaki, M.
    • Nakamoto, T.
    • Araki, H.
  • Source: Soil Science and Plant Nutrition
  • Volume: 58
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: We hypothesized that cover cropping could increase soil microbial activities under various tillage systems and that increased microbial activities would improve soil properties. Soil sampling was conducted at two fields in Japan in 2009. At the Ibaraki field (Andosol, clay loam), three tillage practices (no-tillage, plowing to 30 cm, and rotary tillage to 15 cm) and three types of winter cover cropping [bare fallow as control, hairy vetch ( Vicia villosa Roth), and rye ( Secale cereale L.)] were conducted from 2003 to 2009. At the Hokkaido field (Fluvisol, light clay), two tillage practices (autumn tillage and rotary tillage with a rotary tiller to a depth of 15 cm once in autumn and twice in a year, respectively), and four types of winter cover cropping (bare fallow, hairy vetch, bristle oat ( Avena strigosa L.), and a mixture of hairy vetch and bristle oat) were conducted from 2006 to 2009. Soil microbial activities and the fungal-to-bacterial activity ratio (F/B ratio) were estimated by the substrate-induced respiration (SIR) method with the use of selective antibiotics. At the Ibaraki field, rye cover cropping showed higher microbial SIR than bare fallow at depths of 0-30 cm and rotary tillage maintained higher microbial SIR than no-tillage or plowing at depths of 7.5-15 cm. There was no meaningful interaction effect between cover cropping and tillage on microbial SIR. At the Hokkaido field, cover cropping and tillage had only limited effects on microbial SIR. High F/B ratios (indicating fungal dominance) were recorded with the use of cover crops in both fields. Fungal SIR, estimated from the microbial SIR and F/B ratio, was closely related to the content of total soil organic carbon (SOC) and the mean weight diameter (MWD) of water-stable aggregates. Based on SOC, fungal SIR was significantly higher under rye cover cropping. The relationship between fungal SIR and MWD was affected by tillage. We conclude that rye cover cropping and rotary tillage were very effective in increasing fungal SIR, SOC, and MWD in the Ibaraki soil. Field practices that enhance fungal activities might be effective in improving certain types of arable soil.
  • Authors:
    • Justesen, A.
    • Jorgensen, L.
    • Rodriguez, A.
    • Jensen, J.
    • Nielsen, L.
  • Source: International Journal of Food Microbiology
  • Volume: 157
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Quantitative real-time PCR assays, based on polymorphisms in the TRI12 gene of the trichothecene pathway, were developed to identify and quantify the trichothecene genotypes producing 3-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (3ADON), 15-acetyl-deoxynivalenol (15ADON) or nivalenol (NIV) in the Fusarium graminearum species complex, Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium cerealis and Fusarium pseudograminearum. These assays were applied on a total of 378 field samples of cereal grain of wheat, barley, triticale, rye and oats collected from 2003 to 2007 to study the trichothecene genotype composition in Danish cereals. The three genotypes, 3ADON, 15ADON and NIV were found in all five cereal species, great annual variation in the occurrence of the trichothecene genotypes was evident with considerable variation between the samples. 3ADON was the dominant genotype in barley, triticale, rye and oats while 15ADON was most dominant in wheat. The NIV genotype was found at low levels in most samples. Study of genotype composition within the Danish F. graminearum and F. culmorum population was based on principal component analysis (PCA). PCA revealed that the dominating genotype of F. graminearum in wheat is 15ADON. For barley, the PCA analysis indicated that the F. graminearum population consisted of all three genotypes, and in triticale, the F. graminearum population consisted mainly of 15ADON genotype. F. culmorum/ F. cerealis showed correlation to the NIV genotype in wheat and triticale but not in barley. F. culmorum/ F. cerealis also showed some correlation to 3ADON especially in wheat and triticale. Selected wheat and barley samples from 1957 to 2000 showed low amounts of F. graminearum and F. culmorum in general but with a dominance of the 3ADON genotype. 15ADON was not detected in these samples, except for very low amounts in the sample representing the years from 1997 to 2000. Detection of low amounts of the 15ADON genotype in these historical samples and the relatively high amounts of 15ADON genotype in 2003 and following years correspond well with the occurrence of F. graminearum and indicates that the 15ADON genotype was introduced along with F. graminearum around 2000. The amounts of the 3ADON and 15ADON genotypes correlated well with the total amount of DON whereas the amounts of NIV genotype correlated well with the amount of NIV in wheat and triticale but not in barley where the results indicate that Fusarium poae may also contribute to the NIV content.
  • Authors:
    • Liu, B.
    • Tian, J.
    • Yan, X.
    • Wang, H.
    • Liu, Q.
    • Peng, C.
  • Source: Journal of Biology
  • Volume: 29
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: The tribe triticeae represents a potential gene pool for improvement of crops such as wheat, rye and barley. Roegneria shandongensis is a tetraploid species widely distributing in the Eastern part of China. The species contains resistance to wheat yellow dwarf disease. However, the molecular markers used to investigate the genetic diversity of R. shandongensis were poorly studied. In this paper, a SSR-PCR system of R. shandongensis was optimized and tested. PCR system was optimized in five factors (Mg 2+, dNTP, primer, DNA template and Taq DNA polymerase) at five levels respectively. To discover the economic, rapid, and stable PCR system to screen SSR primers of R. shandongensis and detect the generality of the established system, one SSR primer Xgwm43-7B was used to screen the best PCR reaction system, and nine pairs of SSR primers (Xgwm18-1B, Xgwm32-3A, Xgwm6-4B, Xgwm60-7A, Xgwm67-5B, Xgwm77-3B, Xgwm88-6B, Xgwm95-2A and Xgwm99-1A) were used to test the generality. As a result, a satisfactory SSR-PCR reaction system for R. shandongensis with desirable repeatability and polymorphic bands was established. 20 L SSR-PCR system contained 1 * buffer, 2.875 mmol/L Mg 2+, 200 mol/L dNTP, 3 pmol primer, 45 ng template DNA, 1.5 U Taq polymerase, and ddH 2O then added up to terminal volume of 20 L. The generality test of PCR optimized system of R. shandongensis was carried out. The test result indicated that this system is also suitable for the amplification done by other SSR primers.
  • Authors:
    • Jorgensen, L.
    • Nielsen, G.
    • Spliid, N.
    • Ghorbani, F.
    • Nielsen, K.
    • Rasmussen, P.
  • Source: Mycotoxin research
  • Volume: 28
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2012
  • Summary: Fusarium mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON) can occur in cereals conjugated to glucose and probably also to other sugars. These conjugates, which are often referred to as "masked mycotoxins", will not be detected with routine analytical techniques. Furthermore, it is suspected that the parent toxin may again be released after hydrolysis in the digestive tracts of animals and humans. Today, our knowledge of the occurrence of these compounds in cereal grains is limited. In this paper, a LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of DON, deoxynivalenol-3-beta-D-glucoside (DON-3-glucoside), 3 acetyl-DON, nivalenol, fusarenon-X, diacetoxyscirpenol, HT-2 toxin, and T-2 toxin in naturally ( n=48) and artificially ( n=30) contaminated cereal grains (wheat, barley, oat, rye triticale) is reported. The method has also been applied to whole fresh maize plant intended for production of maize silage ( n=10). The samples were collected from the harvest years 2006-2010, The results show that DON-3-glucoside and DON co-occurred in cereal grains and, especially in several of the highly contaminated samples, the concentration of the glucoside can be relatively high, corresponding to over 37% of the DON concentration. The DON-3-glucoside levels in both the naturally and in the artificially grain inoculated with Fusarium were second only to DON, and were generally higher than those of the other tested trichothecenes, which were found at low concentrations in most samples, in many cases even below the detection limit of the method. This argues for the importance of taking DON-3-glucoside into account in the ongoing discussion within the European Community concerning exposure re-evaluations for setting changed values for the tolerable intake for DON. Our results indicate that, in the naturally contaminated grains and in the Fusarium infested cereal grains (winter and spring wheat, oat, triticale), the concentration level of DON-3-glucoside is positively correlated to the DON content. When the DON concentration is high, then the content of DON-3-glucoside will most probably also be high and vice versa.
  • Authors:
    • Reyneri, A.
  • Source: Informatore Agrario
  • Volume: 68
  • Issue: 17
  • Year: 2012