The First Large Identification of 3ANX and NX Producing Isolates of in Manitoba, Western Canada.

Fusarium head blight, caused by , continues to be one of the most important and devastating fungal diseases on cereal grains including wheat, barley, and oat crops. produces toxic secondary metabolites that include trichothecene type A and type B mycotoxins. There are many variants of these toxins that are produced, and in the early 2010s, a novel type A trichothecene mycotoxin known as 3ANX (7-α hydroxy,15-deacetylcalonectrin) and its deacetylated product NX (7-α hydroxy, 3,15-dideacetylcalonectrin) were identified in Minnesota, USA.

The functions and factors governing fungal communities and diversity in agricultural waters: insights into the ecosystem services aquatic mycobiota provide.

Introduction: Fungi are essential to the aquatic food web, nutrient cycling, energy flow, and ecosystem regulation. Fungal community structures in water can be influenced by adjacent terrestrial environments, which drive and control some ecosystem services they provide. However, the roles of freshwater fungal communities remain underexplored compared to bacterial communities in this context.

Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Resorcylic Acid Lactones by an sp.

Zearalenone and radicicol are resorcylic acid lactones produced by numerous plant pathogenic fungi. Zearalenone is a non-steroidal estrogen mimic that can cause serious reproductive issues in livestock that consume contaminated feed. Radicicol is a potent inhibitor of the molecular chaperone Hsp90, which, in plants, has an important role in coordinating the host's immune response during infection.

A Multi-Year Study of Mycotoxin Co-Occurrence in Wheat and Corn Grown in Ontario, Canada.

Mycotoxin emergence and co-occurrence trends in Canadian grains are dynamic and evolving in response to changing weather patterns within each growing season. The mycotoxins deoxynivalenol and zearalenone are the dominant mycotoxins detected in grains grown in Eastern Canada. Two potential emerging mycotoxins of concern are sterigmatocystin, produced by , and diacetoxyscirpenol, a type A trichothecene produced by a number of species.

Poisoning by in Early-Weaned Beef Calves: Pathological Study and New Macrocyclic Trichothecene Identification.

This study investigated two outbreaks of spontaneous poisoning by (Asteraceae) in early-weaned beef calves in Tacuarembó, Uruguay. A total of 34 affected calves showed signs of salivation, anorexia, apathy, marked dehydration, and diarrhea. Deaths occurred 36-72 h after consumption and mortality varied from 37.

DypB peroxidase for aflatoxin removal: New insights into the toxin degradation process.

Aflatoxin B (AFB) is one of the most potent carcinogens and a widespread food and feed contaminant. As for other toxins, many efforts are devoted to find efficient and environmentally-friendly methods to degrade AFB, such as enzymatic treatments, thus improving the safety of food and feed products. In this regard, the dye decolorizing peroxidase of type B (DypB) can efficiently degrade AFB.

Non-targeted Screening of Natural Products from 288 Fungal Endophytes from Canadian Fruit Crops.

Many diverse species of fungi naturally occur as endophytes in plants. The majority of these fungi produce secondary metabolites of diverse structures and biological activities. Culture extracts from 288 fungi isolated from surface-sterilized blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, and grapes were analyzed by LC-HRMS/MS.

Environmental Concentrations of the Type 2 Diabetes Medication Metformin and Its Transformation Product Guanylurea in Surface Water and Sediment in Ontario and Quebec, Canada.

Metformin, used to treat Type 2 diabetes, is the active ingredient of one of the most prescribed drugs in the world, with over 120 million yearly prescriptions globally. In wastewater-treatment plants (WWTPs), metformin can undergo microbial transformation to form the product guanylurea, which could have toxicological relevance in the environment. Surface water samples from 2018 to 2020 and sediment samples from 2020 were collected from six mixed-use watersheds in Quebec and Ontario, Canada, and analyzed to determine the metformin and guanylurea concentrations at each site.

Metabolomics Reveals Strain-Specific Cyanopeptide Profiles and Their Production Dynamics in and .

Cyanobacterial blooms that release biologically active metabolites into the environment are increasing in frequency as a result of the degradation of freshwater ecosystems globally. The microcystins are one group of cyanopeptides that are extensively studied and included in water quality risk management frameworks. Common bloom-forming cyanobacteria produce incredibly diverse mixtures of other cyanopeptides; however, data on the abundance, distribution, and biological activities of non-microcystin cyanopeptides are limited.

Optimization of Aflatoxin B-Lysine Analysis for Public Health Exposure Studies.

Aflatoxin B is a potent human carcinogen produced by several species of mainly found on nuts and maize. Exposures in parts of Africa, Latin America and Asia can be at multiples, sometimes orders of magnitude above tolerable daily levels. Although human exposure to aflatoxin can be estimated by analysis of the diet, only determination of the serum albumin aflatoxin adduct provides a health-relevant exposure measure.

The NORMAN Suspect List Exchange (NORMAN-SLE): facilitating European and worldwide collaboration on suspect screening in high resolution mass spectrometry.

Background: The NORMAN Association (https://www.norman-network.com/) initiated the NORMAN Suspect List Exchange (NORMAN-SLE; https://www.

Application of Fumonisin Amine Oxidase (AnFAO) to Detoxify Fumonisin-Contaminated Maize.

Fumonisin mycotoxins are a family of secondary metabolites produced by and related species, as well as some strains of . Fumonisin contamination of maize is a concern when grown under hot, dry conditions. When present above regulatory levels, there can be effects on animal health.

The Deoxynivalenol Challenge.

This perspective examines four of the primary challenges that the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) presents to farmers, producers, and consumers. DON is one of the big five agriculturally important mycotoxins, resulting from infection on grains, such as maize, barley, and wheat. In many countries, such as Canada, DON is the mycotoxin of principal concern because it can lead to major economic losses and stresses on food and feed security.

Simplified Synthesis and Stability Assessment of Aflatoxin B-Lysine and Aflatoxin G-Lysine.

Aflatoxins B (AFB) and G (AFG) are carcinogenic mycotoxins that contaminate crops such as maize and groundnuts worldwide. The broadly accepted method to assess chronic human aflatoxin exposure is by quantifying the amount of aflatoxin adducted to human serum albumin. This has been reported using ELISA, HPLC, or LC-MS/MS to measure the amount of AFB-lysine released after proteolysis of serum albumin.

The Two-Way Interaction between the Molecules That Cause Vaginal Malodour and Lactobacilli: An Opportunity for Probiotics.

Vaginal malodour is a sign of dysbiosis. The biogenic amines (BAs) cadaverine, putrescine and tyramine are known to be causative compounds. Recent reports suggest these compounds produced by pathogens might have a role beyond causing malodour; namely inhibiting the growth of lactobacilli bacteria that are crucial in the maintenance of vaginal homeostasis.

Nontargeted Analysis Study Reporting Tool: A Framework to Improve Research Transparency and Reproducibility.

Non-targeted analysis (NTA) workflows using mass spectrometry are gaining popularity in many disciplines, but universally accepted reporting standards are nonexistent. Current guidance addresses limited elements of NTA reporting-most notably, identification confidence-and is insufficient to ensure scientific transparency and reproducibility given the complexity of these methods. This lack of reporting standards hinders researchers' development of thorough study protocols and reviewers' ability to efficiently assess grant and manuscript submissions.

Monitoring of Environmental Contaminants in Mixed-Use Watersheds Combining Targeted and Nontargeted Analysis with Passive Sampling.

Understanding the environmental fate, transport, and occurrence of pesticides and pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments is of utmost concern to regulators. Traditionally, monitoring of environmental contaminants in surface water has consisted of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analyses for a set of targeted compounds in discrete samples. These targeted approaches are limited by the fact that they only provide information on compounds within a target list present at the time and location of sampling.

Interstrain Variability of Human Vaginal for Metabolism of Biogenic Amines and Antimicrobial Activity against Urogenital Pathogens.

is the dominant species in the vagina of many women. With the potential for strains of this species to be used as a probiotic to help prevent and treat dysbiosis, we investigated isolates from vaginal swabs with -dominated and a dysbiotic microbiota. A comparative genome analysis led to the identification of metabolic pathways for synthesis and degradation of three major biogenic amines in most strains.

Unraveling the Ergot Alkaloid and Indole Diterpenoid Metabolome in the Species Complex Using LC-HRMS/MS Diagnostic Fragmentation Filtering.

The plant parasitic fungus sensu lato produces sclerotia containing toxic ergot alkaloids and uncharacterized indole diterpenoids in grasses including cereals. The aim of this study was to detect as many peptide ergot alkaloids and indole diterpenoids in ergot sclerotia as possible by using a liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS) approach and applying filtering of diagnostic fragment ions for data extraction. The sample set consisted of 66 sclerotia from four different geographic locations in southeastern Norway as well as Saskatchewan, Canada.

Structure Activity Relationship for Fumonisin Phytotoxicity.

Fumonisins are mycotoxins produced by a number of species of and . They are polyketides that possess a linear polyol structure with two tricarballylic acid side chains and an amine moiety. Toxicity results from their inhibition of Ceramide Synthase (CerS), which perturbs sphingolipid concentrations.

Normalization of LC-MS mycotoxin determination using the N-alkylpyridinium-3-sulfonates (NAPS) retention index system.

A major challenge for LC-MS analysis is the ability to compare data between laboratories and across instrument platforms. Currently, mycotoxin determination relies on dereplication strategies based on physicochemical properties such as the m/z of the precursor and product ions. Unlike these intrinsic properties, retention time (t) is an extrinsic property impacted by LC conditions, including mobile phases and column chemistry, making exchange of data between groups difficult.

Identification of N,N',N″-triacetylfusarinine C as a key metabolite for root rot disease virulence in American ginseng.

Background: It is estimated that 20-30% of ginseng crops in Canada are lost to root rot each harvest. This disease is commonly caused by fungal infection with , previously known as Previous reports have linked the virulence of fungal disease to the production of siderophores, a class of small-molecule iron chelators. However, these siderophores have not been identified in .