Utilization of High Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Characterization of 8-O-methylbostrycoidin Production by Species of the Fungus Fusarium

The pigment 8-O-methylbostrycoidin is a polyketide metabolite produced by multiple species of the fungus Fusarium that infects plant crops, including maize. A technique was developed for the analysis of 8-O-methylbostrycoidin by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. The quantitative nature of the LC-MS/MS experiment was demonstrated over a range of concentrations in maize. Limits of detection for the method (10 ng/g from 8-O-methylbostrycoidin spiked into ground maize) were shown, and susceptibility of the method to matrix effects from maize was also evaluated. The method was applied to evaluate the ability of the maize pathogen Fusarium verticillioides to produce 8-O-methylbostrycoidin in developing maize ears grown in an agricultural field.