Advances in the molecular diagnosis of toxigenix Fusarium species: A review

The development of advanced molecular diagnosis for the critical toxigenic Fusarium species is considered in this review. The specific topics discussed are ( 1) isolation of mating type genes of Gibberella complex, ( 2) molecular detection of Fusarium-producing fumonisins, ( 3) molecular detection of Fusarium-producing trichothecenes and enniatins. Particular attention is given to the development of PCR assays for genes involved in the toxin biosynthesis that would permit the early detection of Fusarium species-producing toxins and potentially even reveal which particular toxin may be present within a food or feed product. Most of these data have been obtained within the 'De-Tox Fungi' project supported by the European Commission (QLK1-CT-1998-01380).