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Review
. 2011 Jul;3(7):802-14.
doi: 10.3390/toxins3070802. Epub 2011 Jul 1.

Trichothecenes: from simple to complex mycotoxins

Susan P McCormick  1 , April M Stanley, Nicholas A Stover, Nancy J Alexander
Affiliations
Review

Trichothecenes: from simple to complex mycotoxins

Susan P McCormick et al. Toxins (Basel). 2011 Jul.

Abstract

As the world's population grows, access to a safe food supply will continue to be a global priority. In recent years, the world has experienced an increase in mycotoxin contamination of grains due to climatic and agronomic changes that encourage fungal growth during cultivation. A number of the molds that are plant pathogens produce trichothecene mycotoxins, which are known to cause serious human and animal toxicoses. This review covers the types of trichothecenes, their complexity, and proposed biosynthetic pathways of trichothecenes.

Keywords: Type A; Type B; d-type; macrocyclic; mycotoxins; t-type; toxin biosynthesis; trichothecenes.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Classification of trichothecene structures. EPT (12,13-epoxytrichothec-9-ene); R groups may be H, OH, OAcyl, or variations in the macrolide chain.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Proposed trichothecene biosynthetic pathway in Fusarium. Genes encoding an enzymatic step are identified near the arrow indicating the step. Dashed arrows indicate steps for which a gene has not been assigned. Green box indentifies Type B trichothecenes.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Proposed trichothecene biosynthetic pathways illustrating the divergence into the d-type (from isotrichodiol) (orange box) and the t-type (from isotrichotriol) (violet box) trichothecenes. Blue boxes indicate Type A trichothecenes; green boxes indicate Type B trichothecenes; red box indicates Type D trichothecene.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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MeSH terms