Toxigenic Fungi and Mycotoxins: Ecology, Occurrence, and Prevention in a Climate Change Scenario

Dear Colleagues,

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by various fungal species toxic to humans and animals. Contamination by toxigenic fungi and mycotoxins in agricultural commodities may occur at various points in the food/feed chain: at pre-harvest, harvest, and post-harvest. The global warming of the planet is contributing to a worldwide redistribution of fungal communities, and new areas are suffering the contamination by mycotoxins across the globe. In this regard, environmental factors, such as temperature, water availability, and CO₂ represent key factors to understand the ecophysiology of toxigenic fungi in order to better evaluate the possible impact of climate change on toxigenic fungi and mycotoxin occurrence in food and feed. Moreover, predictive models could provide new realistic estimation of the impact of climate change on fungal colonization and mycotoxin contamination.

In this context, this Special Issue of Microorganisms invites you to send novel contributions concerning any aspect related to the effect of climate change on toxigenic fungi distribution, focusing on their ecological behavior and mycotoxin production, new risk areas, and effective preventive measures. The topics comprising this Special Issue are toxigenic fungi biodiversity and genomic characterization, new ecological behaviors, new temporal and spatial distribution of toxigenic fungi and mycotoxins, predictive models, microbial resilience and adaptation, and pre- and post-harvest preventive actions.

Dr. Giancarlo Perrone
Dr. Massimo Ferrara
Dr. Michelangelo Pascale
Guest Editors

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