Abstract
Mycotoxins, as microbial secondary metabolites, frequently contaminate cereal grains and pose a serious threat to human and animal health around the globe. Deoxynivalenol (DON), a commonly detected Fusarium mycotoxin, has drawn utmost attention due to high exposure levels and contamination frequency in the food chain. Biological control is emerging as a promising technology for the management of DON contamination. Functional biological control agents (BCAs), which include antagonistic microbes, natural fungicides derived from plants and detoxification enzymes, can be used to control DON contamination at different stages of grain production. In this review, studies regarding different biological agents for DON control in recent years are summarized for the first time. Furthermore, this article highlights the significance of BCAs for controlling DON contamination, as well as the need for more practical and efficient BCAs concerning food safety.
Highlights
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungi and may exert toxic effects on plants, animals and humans (Goswami and Kistler, 2004; Yu and Keller, 2005)
As a virulence factor of these phytopathogens, mycotoxin DON facilitates the spread of Fusarium strains within infected tissue and contributes to the symptoms of Fusarium head blight (FHB) disease (Bai et al, 2002)
Recent research shows that Ocimum sanctum essential oil has a prominent antagonistic activity on the growth of F. graminearum (Kalagatur et al, 2015)
Summary
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungi and may exert toxic effects on plants, animals and humans (Goswami and Kistler, 2004; Yu and Keller, 2005). DON is predominantly produced by Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium culmorum These phytopathogens can infect crops in the field and cause a destructive disease called Fusarium head blight (FHB) or scab (McMullen et al, 2012). Some effective measures including crop rotation, selection of resistant wheat lines, fungicides application and biological control agents (BCAs) have been put into action to control DON contamination in grain production (Dill-Macky and Jones, 2000; Edwards and Godley, 2010; Wegulo et al, 2015). We are focusing on recent progresses in various BCAs to achieve DON contamination control (Table 1), which will be reviewed briefly . This will be beneficial to understand the exploration and application of BCAs in the field of DON contamination control
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