Christian Doppler Laboratory for Mycotoxin Metabolism
- Lebensmittel, Ernährung, Gesundheit
- Forschungscluster "Lebensmittel"
Abstract
Despite huge research investment on mycotoxins (poisonous, low molecular weight, secondary metabolites of moulds), prevention and control remains difficult and the food industry continues to be vulnerable to problems of contamination. Continued research has led to some understanding of fungal metabolism, but has also highlighted the complexity of fungal/plant interactions and the fact that when analytical work is undertaken to monitor foods only a part of the total mycotoxins present is released and a significant fraction of bound or masked mycotoxins remains undetected. The toxicological fate of these substances is largely unknown. Recognising these significant gaps in current knowledge we aim to investigate the metabolism of mycotoxins by plants, microbes and animals, which will form the three integrated modules in the CDL. We will concentrate our efforts on the Fusarium mycotoxins deoxynivalenol, zearalenone and fumonisin B1, as these compounds are significant contaminants of European cereal crops. The first module will establish the extent of formation of bound mycotoxins in plant systems. The second module will investigate microbial interactions with free and bound toxins with a view to identifying possible detoxification routes. The third module will pursue animal feeding trials to establish the fate of bound toxins in vivo, as well as the effectiveness of detoxification strategies. Radiolabeled mycotoxins will facilitate these studies and biomarkers will be used extensively to monitor the fate of toxins in ani-mal systems. In summary, the overall project aims to answer the following key questions: Which plant metabolites of mycotoxins are formed in agriculturally important crops and in which quantity? What is the bioavailability and toxicity of these soluble (conjugated) and insoluble (bound) forms compared to the native toxins? What is the influence of microbes (either gut bacteria or deactivators) to conjugated and bound toxins? How efficient are various mycotoxin deactivators to detoxify both native mycotoxins and their altered forms?
dx.doi.org
Project staff
Franz Berthiller
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Franz Berthiller
franz.berthiller@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-97371
BOKU Project Leader
01.01.2011 - 31.12.2017
Heidi Elisabeth Schwartz-Zimmermann
Mag.Dr. Heidi Elisabeth Schwartz-Zimmermann
heidi.schwartz@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-97374
Project Staff
01.01.2011 - 31.12.2017
Elisabeth Varga
Ass.Prof. Dipl.-Ing.Dr.nat.techn. Elisabeth Varga
elisabeth.varga@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-97512
Project Staff
01.01.2011 - 31.12.2017
BOKU partners
External partners
Biomin GTI
none
partner
Néstle Research Center
none
partner
Funder
