Some fungi are capable of producing substances that are potent, acute toxins or carcinogens to both animals and humans. These toxic agents are generally called mycotoxins. The diseases these fungi cause are mycotoxicoses, and their impact on domestic animals in terms of decreased growth rate, abnormal reproduction and early death has long been recognized. The impact of these fungi in human carcinogenesis has been the subject of intensive study only since the early 1960s. Mycotoxins of worldwide importance such as aflatoxins B 1 , B 2 , G 1 and G 2 ; deoxynivalenol; zearalenone; fumonisin B 1 ; T-2 toxin; and ochratoxin A, produced by fungi on pre-and post-harvest food and feeds, have led to contamination of the food chain, resulting in severe economic losses and serious health problems in human beings and livestock. In humans, the presence of mycotoxins in foods can be cumulative, leading to cancers and immune-deficiency diseases. This paper discusses the global deleterious effects of the mycotoxins, their metabolism and detoxification, and control measures applicable within the framework of integrated pest management systems.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are a large group of environmental pollutants that can interfere with the endocrine system function of organisms at very low levels. One compound of great concern is trenbolone, which is widely used as a growth promoter in the cattle industry in many parts of the world. The aim of this study was to test how short-term (21-day) exposure to an environmentally relevant concentration of 17β-trenbolone (measured concentration 6 ng/L) affects reproductive behaviour and fin morphology in the eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki). The mosquitofish is a sexually dimorphic livebearer with males inseminating females using their modified anal fin, the gonopodium, as an intromittent organ. Although the species has a coercive mating system, females are able to exert some control over the success of male mating attempts by selectively associating with, or avoiding, certain males over others. We found that females exposed to trenbolone approached males less and spent more time swimming away from males than non-exposed (control) females. By contrast, we found no difference in the behaviour of exposed and non-exposed males. Furthermore, exposure did not affect the anal fin morphology of males or females. This is the first study to demonstrate that exposure to an androgenic EDC can impair female (but not male) behaviour. Our study illustrates how anthropogenic contaminants can have sex-specific effects, and highlights the need to examine the behavioural responses of environmental contaminants in both sexes.

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