Climate change, food security and mycotoxins: Do we know enough?

Abstract

Climate change (CC) scenarios are predicted to have significant effects on the security of staple commodities. A key component of this impact is the infection of such crops by mycotoxigenic moulds and contamination with mycotoxins. The impacts of CC on mycotoxigenic fungi requires examination of the impacts of the threeway interactions between elevated CO2 (350-400 vs 650-1200 ppm), temperature increases (+2-5 o C) and drought stress on growth/mycotoxin production by key spoilage fungi in cereals and nuts. This review examines the available evidence on the impacts of interacting CC factors on growth and mycotoxin production by key mycotoxigenic fungi including Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium and Penicillium species. Aspergillus flavus responsible for producing aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a class 1A carcinogen and its growth appears to be unaffected by CC factors. However, there is a significant stimulation of AFB1 production both in vitro and in vivo in maize. In contrast, studies on Aspergillus section Circumdati and Nigri species responsible for ochratoxin A contamination of a range of commodities and F. verticillioides and fumonisins suggest that some species are more resilient than others, especially in terms of mycotoxin production. Acclimatisation of mycotoxigenic fungal pathogens to CC factors may result in increased disease and perhaps mycotoxin contamination of staple cereals. Predictive modelling approaches to help identify regions where maximum impact may occur in terms of infection by mycotoxigenic fungi and toxin contamination of staple crops is hindered by the lack of reliable inputs on effects of the interacting CC factors. The present available knowledge is discussed in the context of the resilience of staple food chains and the impact that interacting CC factors may have on the availability of food in the future.

Phytopathogenic organisms and mycotoxigenic fungi: Why do we control one and neglect the other? A biological control perspective in Malaysia

“…Furthermore, there has also been an increasing concern that climate change permits for the increased propagation of crop pests and pathogens and their movement to other previously unsuitable regions (Bebber, Ramotowski, & Gurr, ) due to the alteration in the natural environments, which creates new opportunities for evolution (Fisher et al., ). The impacts of climate change on the propagation of microfungi, especially that of the mycotoxigenic fungi and the subsequent mycotoxin production, have been previously discussed in depth (Botana & Sainz, ; Ksenija, ; Medina, Akbar, Baazeem, Rodriguez, & Magan, , ; Paterson & Lima, , ).…”

Aspergillus species and mycotoxins: occurrence and importance in major food commodities

“…In the future the effect of climate change may affect growth of these toxigenic fungi and hence mycotoxin production, as environmental conditions including temperature, relative humidity, increased CO2 and sunlight affect their survival. The climate change effects on fungal survival and mycotoxin production have been discussed elsewhere [38]. Certainly, interactions between these three factors have been shown to stimulate aflatoxin B production by A. flavus, and RNAseq has shown that gene clusters related to secondary metabolite production, stress related functional genes and sugar tranporters amongst others were important [39].…”

Electrochemical Immuno- and Aptasensors for Mycotoxin Determination

“…The globalization of world economics, with huge traffic flows, creates favorable conditions for dissemination of contaminated foodstuffs around the world [5]. Global warming stimulates the formation and dissemination of mycotoxins [6]. Besides, they are not easily eliminated in food processing because of their stability against heat, physical, and chemical treatments [7].…”