key: cord-0748237-47v6bb11
authors: Kalinina, Svetlana; Cramer, Benedikt; Humpf, Hans-Ulrich
title: Current and future perspectives of mycotoxin research — report from the 42(nd)Mycotoxin Workshop (Online conference)
date: 2021-07-28
journal: Mycotoxin Res
DOI: 10.1007/s12550-021-00439-7
sha: f585144c359d1ef9fd48e53204ead9e9244295d7
doc_id: 748237
cord_uid: 47v6bb11

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Thus, the conference started with new developments in the field of human biomonitoring of mycotoxins highlighting the importance and prospect of novel methods for mycotoxin screening in physiological samples. The main focus was on exposure assessments of the population from various countries -Pakistan, Portugal, Chile, Germany, and France -to multiple mycotoxins, such as aflatoxins, deoxynivalenol, fumonisins, ochratoxin A, citrinin, and zearalenone. The increased interest of researchers to exposure scenarios through indoor environments was demonstrated during lectures covering the topics of mould infested building materials, and mycotoxin storage. Notably, gliotoxin was presented as a promising exclusive marker not only for the indoor microfungal dust contamination hazard but also for human Aspergillus infections. Although the analysis of mycotoxins by HPLC-MS/MS and HPLC-HRMS is becoming more and more established, many laboratories still face difficulties with significant matrix effects, sample purification and enrichment. An inspiring presentation on "in sample calibration" based on stable isotope labelled standards and the different probabilities for specific fragmentations completed the session "Analytical developments: Recent developments in the field of mycotoxin analysis".

Toxicology, as a further prominent area in mycotoxin research, conversed during three sessions. Remarkably several lectures were about the application of cell culture and animal models to gain a deeper understanding of mycotoxin toxicity and modes of action on cellular and subcellular levels. Fusarium spp. and its metabolites became the most debated during the first session, while Alternaria toxins and ochratoxin A were in focus of the second session. Thus, for instance, ochratoxin A was revealed to induce pathological features of Parkinson's disease. 17β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase I was shown for the first time as a biological target of alternariol. Moreover, combined Alternaria toxins and their interference with pathways relevant for colonic immune responses, antioxidant capacity, and the structural integrity of intestinal cells were discussed. The final aspects of the toxicology sessions addressed the effects of mycotoxins on animals and plants, toxicity prediction, and strategies for detoxification. One upcoming topic was the distribution and absorption of mycotoxins by plants and possible consequences. Inhibitory effects of Pseudomonas as well as Lactobacillus on Fusarium and Alternaria growth were also discussed, highlighting the search for new effective biocontrol agents and strategies. The consequences of climate change for agriculture, namely elevated temperatures, increased CO 2 concentrations, and drought stress, were in focus of a further session. Experimental results, as well as probabilistic models, indicate that a change of fungal colonization towards more drought-resistant Aspergillus fungi in the south of Europe has to be expected. Also, in Northern Europe climate change can lead to a shift of the traditional mycotoxin patterns and thus pose new risks and challenges to food and feed producers. Surely this topic will shift even more into scientific and public interest during the next years.

The secondary metabolism in filamentous fungi conversed in detail during the session "Genetics and Fig. 1 Participants with "camera on" during the 42nd Mycotoxin Workshop metabolites: regulation of mycotoxin biosynthesis and fungal metabolites". New insights into fusapyrone biosynthesis and self-protection mechanisms of the fumonisin producer Fusarium strains were discussed during the lectures. Novel data of Penicillium expansum exudates, so-called guttation droplets, analysis in terms of patulin production was also presented during this session. Phenylspirodrimanes, secondary metabolites from Stachybotrys chartarum, were shown as biologically active compounds.

By tradition, one of the most important goals of the Mycotoxin Workshop was to support young scientists. Therefore, almost two-thirds of the poster-style short lectures were presented by PhD students. Furthermore, this year for the first time, postdoctoral researchers and junior group leaders had the opportunity to chair the sessions (Fig. 1 ).

A highlight of the Mycotoxin Workshop was the awarding of the Brigitte Gedek Science Prize. Due to the COVID-19 crisis the ceremony could not take place last year and had to be postponed to 2021.

The award is donated by the Brigitte and Wolfram Gedek Foundation and is intended to promote scientific work in the field of mycotoxinology.

This year's Science Prize was split and awarded equally to two laureates: Dr. Annika Jagels from the University of Münster, Germany, and Prof. Dr. Benedikt Warth from the University of Vienna, Austria (Fig. 2) .

The award committee honoured the doctoral thesis of Ms. Jagels "Isolation and structure elucidation of new secondary metabolites from Stachybotrys species and human exposure studies" and the publication of Mr. Warth et al. on the "Transfer and Metabolism of the Xenoestrogen Zearalenone in Human Perfused Placenta" (Environ. Health Persp., 2019).

This highly prestigious prize in the field of mycotoxin research is endowed with 10,000 Euro and given biennially by the Society for Mycotoxin Research. The award is open to scientists worldwide, but the application of the candidate must be supported by a member of the Society for Mycotoxin Research. All details for the next call will be provided on the home page of the Society for Mycotoxin Research (www. mycot oxin. de).

The annual meeting of the Society was held during the 42nd Mycotoxin Workshop. The board of directors reported about the number of members and the financial situation of the Society. Currently, the Society has about 180 members from 26 countries with increasing tendency especially from young scientists. The Society for Mycotoxin Research is a non-profit organisation focusing on scientific excellence and exchange in the field of mycotoxin research and supporting particularly young scientist. Members benefit from a free print and online subscription of the official journal of the Society, Mycotoxin Research, as well as a highly reduced registration fee for the Mycotoxin Workshop. Prof. Dr. Ewald Usleber, the Editor in Chief of Mycotoxin Research, gave a short report about the current situation with the official journal of the Society. Mycotoxin Research and its impact for the scientific community continue to develop very well. For example, the impact factor (Clarivate Analytics) increased from 3.1 in 2019 to 3.8 in 2020. 

The current President of the Society, Prof. Dr. Dr. habil. Manfred Gareis, who served the Society for 20 years since its foundation in 1997, wished to step back from his position. Prof. Dr. Hans-Ulrich Humpf expressed his willingness to follow Manfred Gareis as President. In a unanimous vote, the following Board of Directors was (re)-elected for the period

The 43rd Mycotoxin Workshop will take place on May 30-June 1, 2022, in Toulouse, France. The conference will be organized by the groups of Dr. Isabelle Oswald, Prof. Acknowledgements On behalf of the organizing team and the Society for Mycotoxin Research, we thank the sponsors of the workshop. The scientific committee would also like to thank all external reviewers for the evaluation of submitted abstracts and all session chairs for excellent moderation.Funding Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ licen ses/ by/4. 0/.