Recent Advances of Research in Fungal Toxins

Dear Colleagues,

Fungi produce a diverse array of secondary metabolites. Although some of these metabolites are pharmaceutically useful, others known as mycotoxins cause adverse health effects through the ingestion of contaminated agricultural crops. The discoveries of Penicillium toxins in yellowed rice, carcinogenic aflatoxins in nuts, and Fusarium toxins in cereals, raised concerns about mycotoxin contamination in the food and feed chain, and people became aware of their potential risks to humans and animals in the mid-twentieth century. Intense interdisciplinary research on mycotoxicology emerged around this time, which initially focused on small molecular weight fungal toxins from the viewpoints of mycology, chemistry, and toxicology. The study of mycotoxins later expanded to include the subjects of other scientific disciplines, such as the roles of fungal toxins in plant infection (plant pathology) and fungivory resistance (chemical ecology). In a broader sense, small molecular weight fungal toxins are also a specific group of metabolites with microbial antagonism, which may find application in the treatment of human diseases (antibiotics research). 

With the advancement of modern technologies and improvement of knowledge, small fungal toxins represent a unique research topic, as well as practically important bioactive tools, for understanding the fundamental principles of life and exploration of their activities. In this special issue, we aim to provide a forum of interdisciplinary communication to stimulate research on fungal toxins. In addition to Article, we collect Review, Brief Report, and Perspective papers on, but not limited to, the following areas:

• Biosynthesis of fungal secondary metabolites with toxicity to animals, plants, and microorganisms
• Chemistry and biology of fungal toxins with structural diversity
• Transcriptional regulation of fungal toxin biosynthesis genes
• Animal, plant, and microbial responses to toxigenic fungi and toxins
• Development of bioactive fungal secondary metabolites for agricultural or medical applications

Prof. Dr. Makoto Kimura, Section Board Member of “Molecular Toxicology”, organized this Special Issue and collaborates with Guest Editors in the editorial process.

Dr. Tomoki Fukuyama
Dr. Jong Heon Kim
Dr. Tsutomu Arie
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• antibiotics
• bioactive secondary metabolites
• gene cluster
• mycotoxins
• phytotoxins
• structure activity relationship
• transcriptional regulation