Wheat microbiota characterization: the first step to mitigate mycotoxin accumulation in grains

​​Deoxynivalenol (DON) and enniatin B (ENB), Fusarium mycotoxins, contaminate Italian wheat, resulting in potential synergistic effects on organisms. On the other hand, plant microbiota plays a key role in plant health by protecting against pathogens and promoting growth, offering a sustainable, innovative solution for mycotoxin control. Therefore, the identification of microorganisms with effective activity against ENB-DON accumulation in wheat is the main goal of this work. ​Selective growth conditions were used to isolate approximately 50 microorganisms (both bacteria and fungi) from wheat spikes collected from two sources: (i) experimental field sites in Northern Italy and (ii) plants grown under laboratory conditions and treated with DON and ENB during anthesis. ​Subsequently, the DNA was extracted from each sample and the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions Sanger sequencing was performed for the taxonomic profiling of microbiota. According to the results, the identified genera are 11 for both bacteria and fungi, making 22 different genera. Among these, Kosakonia, Bacillus, Micrococcus, Linnemannia and Trametes genera are known in literature as potential plant growth promoting microorganisms. The whole genome analysis of the interesting genera is ongoing to exclude possible pathogens. Additionally, the microorganisms will be further screened based on their resistance to mycotoxins and their ability to degrade them. This work represents the first step to select microorganisms that could mitigate mycotoxin accumulation.​