Variability in Fusarium species Causing Wilt Disease in Crops: A Transcriptomic Approach to Characterize Dialogue Between Host and Pathogen - Crop Improvement: New Approaches and Modern Techniques - page 270

Table 8.2 Biochemistry of Fusarium mycotoxins

Fusarium mycotoxins Toxicity mechanism Toxicity Examples Main enzyme

Trichothecenes (biosynthe-
sis: sesquiterpenes)

Inhibition of protein
synthesis

Alimentary Toxic Aleukia
Akakabi-byo (red mold disease)
swine feed refusal. In humans
promote neoplasms, cause
autoimmune disease

Diacetoxyscirpenol,
T-2 toxin, nivale-
nol, deoxynivalenol
(vomitoxin)

Trichodiene synthase (Des-
jardins and Proctor 2007 ;
Murphy and Armstrong
1995 ; Berek et al. 2001 ;
Lindsay 1997 )

Eumonisins (biosynthesis:
polyketides)

Inhibition of sphingolipid
metabolism

Carcinogenic: Leukoencephalo-
malacia (equines) neural tube
defects (rodents); pulmonary
edema (pigs); neural tube
defects esophageal cancer
(human)

Fumonisin B1, a
propane-1,2,3-
tricarboxylic diester
of 2-amino-12,16-di-
methyl-3,5,10,14,15-
pentahydroxyicosane

Fumonisin polyketide
synthase (Proctor et al.
2006 )

Zearalenones (biosynthesis:
nonaketide precursors)

Not acutely toxic Non-steroidal estrogenic:

estrogenic syndromes in swine

Resorcyclic acid lactone Polyketide synthases (Kim

et al. 2005 ; Gaffoor and
Trail 2006 )

Beauvercin and ennia-
tins (biosynthesis:
N-methylated cyclic
hexadepsipeptides)

Non-toxic Non-ribosomal, cyclic

hexadepsipeptides, enniatins:
Enniatin A beauvericin

D-2-hydroxyisovaleric acid.
L-amino acids: valine,
leucine, or isoleucine,
phenylalanine

Enniatin synthetase (Member
of non-ribosomal peptide
synthetase) (Desjardins
and Proctor 2007 )

Butenolide (4-acetamido-4-
hydroxy-2-butenoic acid
lactone)

Moderately toxic Fescue foot (cattle: edema,

lameness and gangrenous loss
of extremities)

Cytochrome P450 mono-
oxygenase (Harris et al.
2007 )

Equisetin N-methyl-
2,4-pyrollidone
(1-methyl-3-acyl-5-hy-
droxymethyl-2,4-dione)

Activity against human
immunodeficiency
virus, gram-positive
bacteria

Activity against human
immunodeficiency virus

Polyketide synthase-non-
ribosomal peptide
synthetase (EQIS) (Sims
et al. 2005 )

Fusarins 2-pyrrolidones
(polyketide and TCA)

Mutagenic Non-ribosomal peptide

synthetase epidemiologically
with human diseases

Fusarins A, C, D Hybrid polyketide synthase

(Gaffoor et al. 2005 )