Morphological and M olecular C haracterization of F usarium I solated F rom M aize in S yria

Maize is the third most important cereal after wheat and barley in S yria. Maize plants are attacked by several F usarium species causing mainly stalk and ear rot of maize which poses a major impact worldwide. Identification of F usarium species is important for disease control and for assessment of exposure risk to mycotoxines. To identify F usarium species attacking maize in S yria, a total of 32 F usarium isolates were recovered from maize ears collected from four different geographical regions, mainly from G houta surrounding D amascus. Fusarium isolates were identified based on morphology and on partial DNA sequencing of the TEF 1‐α and r DNA / ITS genes. The majority (26 of 32) of these isolates was identified as F . verticillioides (subdivided into four groups), whereas three isolates turned out to be F .  thapsinum, F .  equiseti and F .  andiyazi . The remaining three isolates were close to F .  andiyazi , although further investigation is needed to confirm whether they represent a yet undescribed species. Furthermore, our results showed that sequencing the TEF 1‐α gene is much more informative than sequencing of the r DNA / ITS region for F usarium identification at the species level. PCR analysis showed that only F .  verticillioides isolates were potentially fumonisin producers and that only the F .  equiseti isolate was potentially trichotecene producer. This is the first report on F usarium thapsinum, F .  equiseti and F .  andiyazi attacking maize in S yria.