Strategies for deoxynivalenol (DON) degradation by microbes from organic fertilizers and influence of the bacterial diversity after DON treatment

Abstract

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most concerned food-borne mycotoxins in the global agricultural field, mainly produced by Fusarium. This study investigates the role of microbial communities in organic fertilization for DON degradation and the impact of DON on these microorganisms during the degradation process. Eight diverse fertilizer samples including earthworm farms (expE1, expE2), horse farms (expH), cattle farms (expC), sheep farms (expS1, expS2), chicken farms (expG), and pig farms (expP), were collected. Following co-incubation with 100 μg/mL DON at 30 °C and 130 rpm for 96 h, expC and expP samples exhibited significant DON degradation rates of 93.3% and 74.9%, respectively. DON was confirmed to be transformed into de-epoxy DON in expC. The study also examined the impact of DON on bacterial flora using 16S rDNA flux sequencing. The diversity of bacterial communities was affected in both expC and expP. This study provides valuable insights into the utilization of organic fertilization and fermentation technology for DON degradation, along with the impact of DON on microbial communities within fertilizers.