Biosynthesis of Fusarium mycotoxins and genomics of Fusarium verticillioides

Analyses of mycotoxin biosynthetic genes in Fusarium indicate that interspecies variation in trichothecene structure can result from differences in gene function and interspecies variation in fumonisin production/non-production can result from differences in the presence/absence of genes. Such variation is not always correlated with phylogenetic relationships of species as determined by sequencing primary metabolic genes; distantly related species can share the same mycotoxin biosynthetic genotype and resulting phenotype, while more closely related species can differ. These findings provide further evidence that the evolution of mycotoxin biosynthesis in Fusarium has not always been congruent with the evolution of species.