The fungal genus Aspergillus was established in 1729, and includes species that are adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions. Many aspergilli produce mycotoxins in foods that may be toxic, mutagenic or carcinogenic in animals. Most of the Aspergillus species are soil fungi or saprophytes but some are capable of causing decay in storage, disease in plants or invasive disease in humans...

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a nephrotoxic mycotoxin with carcinogenic properties. Its presence was detected in various foodstuffs all over the world but with significantly higher frequency and concentrations in areas with endemic nephropathy (EN). Even though food is often contaminated with more than one mycotoxin, earlier studies focused on the occurrence and toxicology of only OTA. Only a limited n...

In 2017, a Total Diet Study was conducted in the Netherlands which mycotoxins were analysed foods and beverages consumed by 1- 2-year-old children. These aflatoxins, Alternaria toxins, citrinin, ergot alkaloids, fumonisins, ochratoxin A, patulin, sterigmatocystin, trichothecenes, zearalenone. Long-term exposure calculated combining concentrations with amounts of these products. Analysed concent...

Fungal polyketide synthases (PKSs) are large, multidomain enzymes that biosynthesize a wide range of natural products. A hallmark of these megasynthases is the iterative use of catalytic domains to extend and modify a series of enzyme-bound intermediates. A subset of these iterative PKSs (iPKSs) contains a C-methyltransferase (CMeT) domain that adds one or more S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)-derive...