Fumonisin elimination and prospects for detoxification by enzymatic transformation

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Hartinger ◽  
W. Moll

A technology to efficiently reduce the concentration of carcinogenic and toxic fumonisins in food and feed would be desirable. This class of mycotoxins is produced by the maize pathogen Fusarium verticillioides and other fungi. Fumonisins are frequently found in maize from the warm growing regions of the world, sometimes in considerable concentrations. Their molecular similarity with sphingolipids enables their binding to mammalian ceramide synthase, and the resulting interference with sphingolipid metabolism. Recently, we reported on a cluster of genes of Sphingopyxis sp. MTA144 which enables this alphaproteobacterium to degrade fumonisins. These and the previously known fumonisin catabolism genes and enzymes from the black yeast Exophiala spinifera and from bacterium ATCC 55552 allow the consideration of prospects for enzymatic detoxification of fumonisins in food and feed. All the known fumonisin catabolism pathways start by hydrolytic release of the two tricarballylic acid side chains, followed by removal of the 2-amino group from the core chain by different enzymatic mechanisms. The potential for application of feed enzymes for fumonisin detoxification in the gastrointestinal tract of animals is discussed, and possible applications in processing of maize for feed or food are also considered. To be able to evaluate the requirement for, and potential of, a new, enzyme-based fumonisin detoxification technology, an overview of the state of the art of fumonisin elimination and the known chemical reactions of fumonisins in processing or decontamination is also given. There is a special focus on the toxicity of hydrolysed fumonisins, because they can be generated from fumonisins both by an established, traditional method of maize processing, nixtamalisation, and by enzymatic biotransformation. As a complement to other approaches, enzymatic degradation of fumonisins to ameliorate the health risk of contaminated maize for animals, and possibly also for humans, seems feasible.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 2435
Author(s):  
Marzia Beccaccioli ◽  
Manuel Salustri ◽  
Valeria Scala ◽  
Matteo Ludovici ◽  
Andrea Cacciotti ◽  
...  

Fusarium verticillioides causes multiple diseases of Zea mays (maize) including ear and seedling rots, contaminates seeds and seed products worldwide with toxic chemicals called fumonisins. The role of fumonisins in disease is unclear because, although they are not required for ear rot, they are required for seedling diseases. Disease symptoms may be due to the ability of fumonisins to inhibit ceramide synthase activity, the expected cause of lipids (fatty acids, oxylipins, and sphingolipids) alteration in infected plants. In this study, we explored the impact of fumonisins on fatty acid, oxylipin, and sphingolipid levels in planta and how these changes affect F. verticillioides growth in maize. The identity and levels of principal fatty acids, oxylipins, and over 50 sphingolipids were evaluated by chromatography followed by mass spectrometry in maize infected with an F. verticillioides fumonisin-producing wild-type strain and a fumonisin-deficient mutant, after different periods of growth. Plant hormones associated with defense responses, i.e., salicylic and jasmonic acid, were also evaluated. We suggest that fumonisins produced by F. verticillioides alter maize lipid metabolism, which help switch fungal growth from a relatively harmless endophyte to a destructive necrotroph.


Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 214
Author(s):  
Agathe Roucou ◽  
Christophe Bergez ◽  
Benoît Méléard ◽  
Béatrice Orlando

The levels of fumonisins (FUMO)—mycotoxins produced by Fusarium verticillioides—in maize for food and feed are subject to European Union regulations. Compliance with the regulations requires the targeting of, among others, the agroclimatic factors influencing fungal contamination and FUMO production. Arvalis-Institut du végétal has created a national, multiyear database for maize, based on field survey data collected since 2003. This database contains information about agricultural practices, climatic conditions and FUMO concentrations at harvest for 738 maize fields distributed throughout French maize-growing regions. A linear mixed model approach highlights the presence of borers and the use of a late variety, high temperatures in July and October, and a water deficit during the maize cycle as creating conditions favoring maize contamination with Fusarium verticillioides. It is thus possible to target a combination of risk factors, consisting of this climatic sequence associated with agricultural practices of interest. The effects of the various possible agroclimatic combinations can be compared, grouped and classified as promoting very low to high FUMO concentrations, possibly exceeding the regulatory threshold. These findings should facilitate the creation of a national, informative and easy-to-use prevention tool for producers and agricultural cooperatives to manage the sanitary quality of their harvest.


BMC Genomics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye-Seon Kim ◽  
Jessica M. Lohmar ◽  
Mark Busman ◽  
Daren W. Brown ◽  
Todd A. Naumann ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Sphingolipids are structural components and signaling molecules in eukaryotic membranes, and many organisms produce compounds that inhibit sphingolipid metabolism. Some of the inhibitors are structurally similar to the sphingolipid biosynthetic intermediate sphinganine and are referred to as sphinganine-analog metabolites (SAMs). The mycotoxins fumonisins, which are frequent contaminants in maize, are one family of SAMs. Due to food and feed safety concerns, fumonisin biosynthesis has been investigated extensively, including characterization of the fumonisin biosynthetic gene cluster in the agriculturally important fungi Aspergillus and Fusarium. Production of several other SAMs has also been reported in fungi, but there is almost no information on their biosynthesis. There is also little information on how widely SAM production occurs in fungi or on the extent of structural variation of fungal SAMs. Results Using fumonisin biosynthesis as a model, we predicted that SAM biosynthetic gene clusters in fungi should include a polyketide synthase (PKS), an aminotransferase and a dehydrogenase gene. Surveys of genome sequences identified five putative clusters with this three-gene combination in 92 of 186 Fusarium species examined. Collectively, the putative SAM clusters were distributed widely but discontinuously among the species. We propose that the SAM5 cluster confers production of a previously reported Fusarium SAM, 2-amino-14,16-dimethyloctadecan-3-ol (AOD), based on the occurrence of AOD production only in species with the cluster and on deletion analysis of the SAM5 cluster PKS gene. We also identified SAM clusters in 24 species of other fungal genera, and propose that one of the clusters confers production of sphingofungin, a previously reported Aspergillus SAM. Conclusion Our results provide a genomics approach to identify novel SAM biosynthetic gene clusters in fungi, which should in turn contribute to identification of novel SAMs with applications in medicine and other fields. Information about novel SAMs could also provide insights into the role of SAMs in the ecology of fungi. Such insights have potential to contribute to strategies to reduce fumonisin contamination in crops and to control crop diseases caused by SAM-producing fungi.


Proceedings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Ersöz ◽  
Adan

Sphingolipids are important signaling lipids which play crucial roles to determine the cell fate. Ceramide, apoptotic central molecule of sphingolipid metabolism, which is produced through de novo pathway by serine palmitoyl transferase (SPT) and can be converted to antiapoptotic sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and glucosyl ceramide (GC) by sphingosine kinase (SK) and glucosyl ceramide synthase (GCS), respectively. It is aimed to investigate therapeutic potential of resveratrol on FLT3-ITD (Internal Tandem Duplication) AML cells and to identify potential mechanism behind resveratrol-mediated growth inhibition by targeting of ceramide metabolism. The cytotoxic effects of resveratrol, SPT inhibitor (myricoin), SK-1 inhibitor (SKI II), GCS inhibitor (PDMP), resveratrol: SPT inhibitor, resveratrol: SK-1 inhibitor and resveratrol: GCS inhibitor combinations on MOLM-13 and MV4-11 FLT3 ITD AML cells were investigated by cell proliferation assay. Apoptosis was evaluated by annexin V/PI double staining. There were synergistic cytotoxic effects of resveratrol with co-administration of SPT inhibitor, SK-1 inhibitor and GCS inhibitor and apoptosis was synergistically induced for resveratrol and its combinations. This preliminary data showed for the first time that resveratrol might inhibit the growth of FLT3 ITD AML cells through targeting ceramide metabolism.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Vantomme

The recognition that insects can contribute to food security has received a remarkable boost by the media, and is getting more attention from researchers and from food and feed agencies worldwide. This paper reviews major activities and achievements over the past 4 years and suggests ways forward mainly from an FAO perspective. To assure that insects can remain part of the diets of 2 billion people, action is urgently needed to protect and ensure sustainability in gathering wild insect populations, to promote simple semi-domestication techniques, and to farm insects at household or industrial scale levels. Integrating edible insects as healthy food into the agenda and campaigns of food agencies will require a more comprehensive understanding on the nutritional and health values of more insect species. Further investigation is needed particularly of impacts on consumer's health, food safety, environmental impacts and risk assessments of using insects in the food chain. National and international poverty alleviation agencies and aid programmes need to be made aware that gathering and farming insects is a viable option to help people improve their livelihoods. For this to happen, a comprehensive awareness raising campaign needs to be launched on the socio-economic benefits that insect gathering and farming can offer, with a special focus on improving the food security of the poorest of society. Legislators and policy makers are called on to deliberate and include insects as feed and food into existing national policy and legal frameworks covering the food, health and feed sectors. Research is needed to investigate the sustainability and quantify the environmental impacts of harvesting and farming insects as compared with traditional farming and livestock-raising practices. This would help to inform the public about the real footprint and cost of our food choices and on their socio-economic and environmental consequences.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphaël Groux ◽  
Laetitia Fouillen ◽  
Sébastien Mongrand ◽  
Philippe Reymond

In Brassicaceae, hypersensitive-like (HR-like) cell death is a central component of direct defenses triggered against eggs of the large white butterfly Pieris brassicae. The signaling pathway leading to HR-like in Arabidopsis is mainly dependent on salicylic acid (SA) accumulation, but downstream components are unclear. Here, we found that treatment with P. brassicae egg extract (EE) trigger changes in expression of sphingolipid metabolism genes in Arabidopsis and Brassica nigra. Disruption of ceramide synthase activity led to a significant decrease of EE-induced HR-like whereas SA signaling and reactive oxygen species levels were unchanged, suggesting that ceramides are downstream activators of HR-like. Sphingolipid quantifications showed that ceramides with C16-0 side-chains accumulated in both species, and this response was independent on SA accumulation. Finally, we provide genetic evidence that the modification of fatty acyl chains of sphingolipids modulates HR-like. Altogether, these results show that sphingolipids play a key and specific role during insect egg-triggered HR-like.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Izquierdo ◽  
Mireia Casasampere ◽  
Gemma Fabriàs ◽  
José Luis Abad ◽  
Josefina Casas ◽  
...  

Ceramides are recognized to occupy a pivotal position in sphingolipid metabolism, playing a fundamental role as membrane structural components, as well as second messengers. Ceramide synthases (CerS) are a family of enzymes that catalyze the N-acylation of sphingosine and dihydrosphingosine, thus controlling the levels of intracellular ceramides. In this work, we present the synthesis and the fluorescent properties of new probes for the development of a FRET-based assay for CerS activity. Based on our previous discovery of spisulosine as a suitable probe for CerS activity in cells, the use of a modified NBD-spisulosine with a clickable fatty acid as CerS substrates may allow the ultimate formation of a bichromophoric reporter for a FRET-based analysis of CerS activity in cells.


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