Page 124 - Plant Canada 2024 Proceeding

PLANT CANADA 2024

while 3A, 3D, and 3H have remained predominant over the years. Numerous new canola cultivars enter
the market every year, often advertised as carrying novel resistance capable of controlling resistance-
breaking pathotypes. Monitoring the performance of these cultivars and evaluating the pathotype
composition of isolates recovered from infected plants will help farmers and agronomists determine which
commercial cultivars should be planted in the future.

*[O45] UTILITY OF CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE IN THE PRODUCTION OF
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MEDICINAL FUNGI. Jacqueline Nguyen , Nykole Crevits , Jeff Huber , Mike Dixon , and Thomas
Graham . Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility, School of Environmental Sciences,
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University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada; lnformatics and Life Sciences, School of Health
and Life Sciences, Kitchener - Doon Campus, Conestoga College, Kitchener, ON N2G 4M4, Canada; and
3 Agri-Business Management, School of Engineering and Technology, Guelph Campus, Conestoga
College, Guelph, ON N1H 0A8, Canada
Correspondence to: jnguye13@uoguelph.ca

Fungal-derived drugs have revolutionized the landscape of pharmaceuticals. There is an increasing
interest in medicinal fungi as nutraceutical products but as demand rises, supply chain issues have
emerged. Medicinal and culinary varieties of fungi are often grown in hoop houses or indoor growing
facilities with limited environment controls. This can lead to biological and chemical contamination,
including environmental pollutants. Growth conditions vary between producers, and there is limited
information available on the effect of environment controls on the physicochemical properties of fungi.
Other issues including quality control, contamination, and efficacy of nutraceuticals in general have
become more prevalent due to unregulated cultivation, postharvest processing, and wild harvesting. The
lack of oversight in the nutraceutical market can lead to serious health risks for consumers. To address
these issues, we propose the cultivation of medicinal fungal species under controlled environment
conditions. Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) medicinal mushroom production allows for control
over all key environmental growth parameters (e.g., CO2, humidity, temperature, etc.). Advancements in
this biotechnology approach will ensure conditions are optimal and homogenized at all stages of growth.
Standardizing cultivation protocols can improve overall quality and uniformity, while reducing
contamination. Conditions can be altered to express desired traits from crops such as their size, shape,
bioactive content, and growth rate. Current literature regarding the use of CEA is focused on plant
production; there is a paucity of data for fungi cultivation. The limited variety of cultivated mushrooms has
also contributed to a lack of transferable knowledge across different fungal species presenting challenges
in progressing the cultivation of medicinal fungi. The state and future of CEA medicinal mushroom
production will be discussed along with research underway at the University of Guelph.

[O46] A HIGH THROUGHPUT PHENOTYPING PLATFORM FOR CEREAL RESEARCH AND
BREEDING PROGRAMS TO IDENTIFY FUSARIUM DAMAGED KERNELS AND FUSARIUM
PRODUCED MYCOTOXINS. Lipu Wang , Deborah Michel , Keyhan Najafian , Mackenzie Hladun ,
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Alejandra M. Oviedo-Ludena , Sheila M P Andrade , Anas El-Aneed , Ruijiao Kang , Yuefeng Ruan ,
Lingling Jin , Ian Stavness , and Hadley R. Kutcher . Department of Plant Sciences/Crop Development
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Centre, University of Saskatchewan, 51 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, Canada, S7N 5A8; College of
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Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, 2D10 HSB, 107 Wiggins Rd., Saskatoon, SK,
Canada, S7N 5E5; Department of Computer Science, University of Saskatchewan, Thorvaldson
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Building, 110 Science Place Saskatoon, SK, Canada, S7N 5C9; and Swift Current Research and
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Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, P.O. Box 1030, Swift Current, SK, Canada, S9H
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Correspondence to: lipu.wang@usask.ca

Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by Fusarium spp., is a destructive disease of wheat. FHB affects
kernel development, resulting in lightweight, chalky white, shrunken kernels covered with white or pink
mycelia; these are known as Fusarium damaged kernels (FDKs). Infected kernels are frequently
contaminated with Fusarium produced mycotoxins, especially deoxynivalenol (DON). FHB significantly
reduces grain yield and quality, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses annually in Canada.
Breeding cultivars with high disease resistance and low mycotoxin contamination is a priority for wheat
breeders. However, traditional FDK and DON measurement methods are time-consuming, labor-
intensive, and of variable accuracy; improvements are needed for large-scale screening in breeding
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