TY - JOUR A1 - Hoffmann, A. A1 - Lischeid, G. A1 - Koch, Matthias A1 - Lentzsch, P. A1 - Sommerfeld, Thomas A1 - Müller, M.H. T1 - Co-Cultivation of Fusarium, Alternaria, and Pseudomonas on Wheat-Ears Affects Microbial Growth and Mycotoxin Production JF - Microorganisms N2 - Mycotoxigenic fungal pathogens Fusarium and Alternaria are a leading cause of loss in cereal production. On wheat-ears, they are confronted by bacterial antagonists such as pseudomonads. Studies on these groups’ interactions often neglect the infection process’s temporal aspects and the associated priority effects. In the present study, the focus was on how the first colonizer affects the subsequent ones. In a climate chamber experiment, wheat-ears were successively inoculated with two different strains (Alternaria enuissima At625, Fusarium graminearum Fg23, or Pseudomonas simiae Ps9). Over three weeks, microbial abundances and mycotoxin concentrations were analyzed and visualized via Self Organizing Maps with Sammon Mapping (SOM-SM). All three strains revealed different characteristics and strategies to deal with co-inoculation: Fg23, as the first colonizer, suppressed the establishment of At625 and Ps9. Nevertheless, primary inoculation of At625 reduced all of the Fusarium toxins and stopped Ps9 from establishing. Ps9 showed priority effects in delaying and blocking the production of the fungal mycotoxins. The SOM-SM analysis visualized the competitive strengths: Fg23 ranked first, At625 second, Ps9 third. Our findings of species-specific priority effects in a natural environment and the role of the mycotoxins involved are relevant for developing biocontrol strategies. KW - Antagonists KW - Microbe interactions KW - Mycotoxins KW - Priority effect KW - SOM-SM PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-521554 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9020443 VL - 9 IS - 2 SP - 443 PB - MDPI AN - OPUS4-52155 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -