Citrinin Determination in Food and Food Supplements by LC-MS/MS: Development and Use of Reference Materials in an International Collaborative Study.

The development of incurred reference materials containing citrinin (CIT) and their successful application in a method validation study (MVS) in order to harmonize CIT determination in food and food supplements are demonstrated. CIT-contaminated materials made of red yeast rice (RYR), wheat flour, and leaves (GBL), as well as food supplements made of red yeast rice (FS-RYR) and leaves (FS-GBL), were manufactured in-house via fungal cultivation on collected raw materials. The homogeneity and stability from randomly selected containers were verified according to the ISO 13528.

Species Composition and Toxigenic Potential of Isolates Causing Fruit Rot of Sweet Pepper in China.

Apart from causing serious yield losses, various kinds of mycotoxins may be accumulated in plant tissues infected by strains. Fusarium mycotoxin contamination is one of the most important concerns in the food safety field nowadays. However, limited information on the causal agents, etiology, and mycotoxin production of this disease is available on pepper in China.

Birth, death and horizontal transfer of the fumonisin biosynthetic gene cluster during the evolutionary diversification of Fusarium.

Fumonisins are a family of carcinogenic secondary metabolites produced by members of the Fusarium fujikuroi species complex (FFSC) and rare strains of Fusarium oxysporum. In Fusarium, fumonisin biosynthetic genes (FUM) are clustered, and the cluster is uniform in gene organization. Here, sequence analyses indicated that the cluster exists in five different genomic contexts, defining five cluster types.

Aptamer-based molecular recognition of lysergamine, metergoline and small ergot alkaloids.

Ergot alkaloids are mycotoxins produced by fungi of the genus Claviceps, which infect cereal crops and grasses. The uptake of ergot alkaloid contaminated cereal products can be lethal to humans and animals. For food safety assessment, analytical techniques are currently used to determine the presence of ergot alkaloids in food and feed samples.

Genetic diversity and mycotoxin production of Fusarium lactis species complex isolates from sweet pepper.

An internal fruit rot disease of sweet peppers was first detected in Belgium in 2003. Research conducted mostly in Canada indicates that this disease is primarily caused by Fusarium lactis Pirotta. Ninety-eight Fusarium isolates obtained from diseased sweet peppers from Belgium, as well as from other countries (Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) were identified by sequencing the translation elongation factor 1α (EF).

Gibberella musae (Fusarium musae) sp. nov., a recently discovered species from banana is sister to F. verticillioides.

Several strains of Fusarium isolated from banana were identified previously as F. verticillioides (Sacc.) Nirenberg but described as unable to produce fumonisin.