Fumonisin disruption of ceramide biosynthesis in maize roots and the effects on plant development and Fusarium verticillioides-induced seedling disease

The fungus Fusarium verticillioides infects maize and produces fumonisins, inhibitors of ceramide synthase. Seeds of the cultivar Silver Queen were inoculated with fumonisin-producing or non-fumonisin-producing strains of F. verticillioides. Leaf lesion incidence and severity of effects on root and stalk growth were significantly correlated with fumonisin in roots and disruption of sphingolipid metabolism in roots. Uninoculated seeds grown in soil watered with solutions of fumonisin B1 exhibited above-ground symptoms indicative of F. verticillioides-induced seedling disease and dose-dependent reduction in root mass that was inversely correlated with fumonisin B1, sphingoid bases, and sphingoid base 1-phosphates in roots. There was also evidence of an adaptive response to disrupted sphingolipid metabolism in both the virulence and watering assays, suggesting induction of pathways responsible for metabolism of sphingoid base 1-phosphates after prolonged exposure. The results suggest that fumonisin, and its effects on sphingolipids, could contribute to all aspects of F. verticillioides maize seedling disease.