Ongoing climate change may affect the susceptibility of plants to attacks by pathogenic, mostly mycotoxigenic fungi with a consequent increase in the presence of mycotoxins. Fusarium fungi represent one of the most important producers of mycotoxins, and are also important pathogens of agricultural crops. Therefore, the main aim of the study was to estimate the impact of weather parameters on the natural occurrence of Fusarium mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol (DON), fumonisins B1 and B2 (FUMs), zearalenone (ZEN), T-2, and HT-2 toxins (T-2/HT-2) in maize samples harvested from two neighboring countries, Serbia and Croatia, during a four-year production period (2018–2021). The frequency and contamination level of examined Fusarium mycotoxins varied by maize year of production and could be linked to weather conditions per investigated country. Among them, FUMs were found to be the most common contaminants (84–100%) of maize in both Serbia and Croatia. Additionally, a critical assessment of Fusarium mycotoxins occurrence in the last 10 years (2012–2021), for both Serbia and Croatia, was done. Results pointed out the highest contamination of maize from 2014, especially with DON and ZEN, in connection to extreme levels of precipitation observed in both Serbia and Croatia, whereas FUMs occurred with high prevalence from each of the ten investigated years.
During the last decade, scientists have given increasingly frequent warnings about global warming, linking it to mycotoxin-producing moulds in various geographical regions across the world. In the future, more pronounced climate change could alter host resilience and host–pathogen interaction and have a significant impact on the development of toxicogenic moulds and the production of their secondary metabolites, known as mycotoxins. The current climate attracts attention and calls for novel diagnostic tools and notions about the biological features of agricultural cultivars and toxicogenic moulds. Since European climate environments offer steadily rising opportunities for Aspergillus flavus growth, an increased risk of cereal contamination with highly toxic aflatoxins shall be witnessed in the future. On top of that, the profile (representation) of certain mycotoxigenic Fusarium species is changing ever more substantially, while the rise in frequency of Fusarium graminearum contamination, as a species which is able to produce several toxic mycotoxins, seen in northern and central Europe, is becoming a major concern. In the following paper, a high-quality approach to a preventative strategy is tailored to put a stop to the toxicogenic mould- and mycotoxin-induced contamination of foods and feeds in the foreseeable future.
Aflatoxins (AFs) represent the most important mycotoxin group, whose presence in food and feed poses significant global health and economic issues. The occurrence of AFs in maize is a burning problem worldwide, mainly attributed to droughts. In recent years, Serbia and Croatia faced climate changes followed by a warming trend. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to estimate the influence of weather on AFs occurrence in maize from Serbia and Croatia in the 2018–2021 period. The results indicate that hot and dry weather witnessed in the year 2021 resulted in the highest prevalence of AFs in maize samples in both Serbia (84%) and Croatia (40%). In maize harvested in 2018–2020, AFs occurred in less than, or around, 10% of Serbian and 20% of Croatian samples. In order to conduct a comprehensive study on the implications of climate change for the occurrence of AFs in maize grown in these two countries, the results of available studies performed in the last thirteen years were searched for and discussed.
The genus Aspergillus is one of the most important and widespread filamentous fungal genera. Aspergillus species are extremely diverse in their habitats, with a great ability to produce different secondary metabolites. Due to their metabolic versatility and great biotechnological potential, some of the Aspergillus species and their metabolites are of great medical and industrial significance, especially in the fermented food industry. On the other hand, some of the Aspergillus species are known as important human, animal, and plant pathogens (Palencia et al., 2010). Aspergillosis is the name given to a wide variety of diseases caused by fungal infections from species of Aspergillus. From an agriculture point of view, Aspergillus species are considered as a serious problem, largely because of their prevalence as pathogens of field and stored crops, particularly under hot and dry conditions. The following Aspergillus species are frequently encountered in agricultural products: Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus, A. niger, A. ochraceus, A. carbonarius, etc. (Bennett, 2010). Aspergillus species as plant pathogens are of concern not only for their ability to destroy several agronomical important food and feed crops but also due to their ability to produce a great number of different metabolites. Some of the Aspergillus metabolites belong to contaminants of worldwide concern called mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are harmful secondary fungal metabolites that can contaminate a variety of food and feed worldwide, causing numerous negative health effects on humans and animals, and economic losses as well. Among
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