Occurrence, Toxicity, Metabolism, Analysis and Control of Mycotoxins

Dear Colleagues,

Mycotoxins, poisonous chemical compounds produced by certain filamentous fungi, are a global food safety hazard. They occur all over the world and are closely associated with food commodities, especially agricultural crops. Currently, 400 mycotoxins have been identified, and these mycotoxins contaminate about 25% of the world’s food production. The most important and dangerous are aflatoxins, ochratoxins, fumonisins, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, trichothecenes, patulin and ergot alkaloids. The effects of exposure to mycotoxins pose adverse impacts to human and animal health, as well as economic development and international trade. Multiple disciplines have driven on research on mycotoxins, making it a truly interdisciplinary area of scientific endeavor. The biochemistry, physiology and genetics of mycotoxin have been elucidated over the last decade. The understanding of pathogenic fungal–host crosstalk remains a challenge, partly because mycotoxin biosynthesis strongly depends on physicochemical parameters and environmental conditions. It is necessary and crucial to develop the analytical techniques to detect and quantify mycotoxins. Preventative measures for crop diseases as well as mycotoxins contamination should be employed to manage pathogens and mycotoxins for farmers or feed managers.

This Special Issue of Toxins aims to highlight the following areas:

• The status of mycotoxin occurrence and co-occurrence in agro-food systems and ecological niches;
• The biological characteristics of fungal ecology and secondary metabolism of toxigenic fungi;
• The genetic constitution, biochemical pathways and regulatory mechanisms of mycotoxins biosynthesis;
• The influence of biological, chemical, physiological and environmental factors on toxin production;
• The toxicological effects of mycotoxins such as virulence factors on plants, animals and humans;
• Novel strategies to discover new mycotoxins as well as their physiological function;
• Advanced analytical methods for the detection and quantification of mycotoxin in food and feed;
• Chemical, physical and biological techniques for the degradation or detoxification of mycotoxins;
• Efficient management approaches in pre-harvest, during harvest, storage and processing.

Dr. Ling Wang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxins is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• mycotoxin
• filamentous fungi
• secondary metabolism
• toxic mechanism
• metabolic regulation
• pathogenicity/virulence
• analytical methods
• detection and quantification
• degradation or detoxification
• control strategies