Ergot Alkaloid Contents in Hybrid Rye are Reduced by Breeding

Thomas Miedaner, Anna Kodisch, Armin Raditschnig and Jakob Eifler
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Thomas Miedaner: State Plant Breeding Institute, University of Hohenheim, Fruwirthstraße 21, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
Anna Kodisch: State Plant Breeding Institute, University of Hohenheim, Fruwirthstraße 21, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
Armin Raditschnig: Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), Institute for Food Safety Linz, Wieningerstrasse 8, 4020 Linz, Austria
Jakob Eifler: KWS LOCHOW GMBH, Ferdinand-Von-Lochow-Straße 5, 29303 Bergen, Germany

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 6, 1-9

Abstract: Contamination by ergot caused by the phytopathogenic fungus Claviceps purpurea is a constant threat to the whole rye value chain. Ergot alkaloids (EA) produced within the fungal sclerotia are toxic for humans and animals and are subjected to strict regulations in human food. Our main objective was to analyze whether less susceptible rye cultivars with a lower content of sclerotia also contain fewer ergot alkaloids (EA). We analyzed 15 factorial single crosses in multi-environmental trials with artificial inoculation for their ergot severity, the content of twelve EAs by HPLC, and the total ergot content by ELISA. The genotypes displayed a wide range of pollen shedding from fully sterile to fully fertile, of ergot severity expressed as percentage of sclerotia relative to the harvest (0.22–11.47%), and of EA contents when analyzed by HPLC (0.57–45.27 mg/kg. Entry-mean heritabilities were high throughout (0.87–0.98). The factorial analysis yielded a preponderance of male general combining ability (GCA) variances, the estimates for the females were smaller, although significant. EA contents measured by ELISA were, on average, seven times larger. The correlation between ergot severity and EA contents determined by HPLC was r = 0.98 ( p ≤ 0.01) and only somewhat lower when analyzed by ELISA. In conclusion, less ergot prone rye genotypes also support lower EA contents.

Keywords: Claviceps purpurea; ELISA; ergot severity; HPLC; pollen; Secale cereale (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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