镰刀菌真菌毒素产生与调控机制研究进展

镰刀菌是一种重要的植物病原菌,给世界范围内农作物生产带来巨大破坏。除导致产量下降外,由其产生的镰刀菌真菌毒素能够污染农产品品质,给动物和人类食物安全造成严重隐患。单端孢霉烯族毒素（Trichothecenes）、伏马菌素（Fumonisin）和玉米赤霉烯酮（Zearalenone）是三种最重要的镰刀菌真菌毒素。镰刀菌真菌毒素的生物合成与生产受到体内一系列相关功能基因的调控;此外,pH值、碳氮比等环境条件也能影响真菌毒素的产量。本文简述了镰刀菌真菌毒素在产生机理、主要分类、致病性以及调控因素等方面的研究进展。     

环境胁迫下HOG-MAPK途径对真菌毒素形成的调控机制北大核心CSCD

真菌为了适应在生长侵染食品、饲料等农产品的过程中所面临的各种环境胁迫的考验,包括热胁迫、氧化胁迫、渗透压胁迫、紫外胁迫等,进化出一套高渗透性甘油促分裂原活化蛋白激酶(high osmolarity glycerol mitogen-activated protein kinase,HOG-MAPK)途径。该途径对真菌的生长发育、真菌毒素的产生和致病性都具有重要影响。HOG-MAPK途径共有两个分支,其中SLN1分支相比另一分支(SHO1分支)具有较为敏感的渗透压胁迫感应能力,能在高渗压和高盐浓度下进行渗透压胁迫反应。SHO1分支参与多种信号感应传导,比如氧化胁迫、热胁迫等。本文综述了真菌HOG-MAPK途径中关键基因sln1、sho1、ste11、ssk2、pbs2和hog1在应对渗透压胁迫、氧化胁迫等不同环境胁迫时所发挥的功能,说明HOG-MAPK途径可以响应多种环境信号,并参与调控黄曲霉、赭曲霉等致病真菌的生长和黄曲霉毒素(aflatoxin)、赭曲霉毒素(ochratoxin)等真菌毒素的产生。在不同环境胁迫下,HOG-MAPK途径对真菌毒素调控机制的研究可为食品和饲料等农产品真菌毒素的防控提供理论基础和指导方向。     

昆虫共生微生物及其功能研究进展

昆虫体内共生微生物能够占到昆虫生物量的1%~10%,主要包括细菌、真菌、古菌和病毒。昆虫与共生微生物共进化形成共生体,共生微生物在昆虫生物学性状、多样性形成、生态适应性与抗逆性等多方面发挥着重要的作用。昆虫中的农作物害虫严重影响农业生产。本文对2000年以来农业害虫共生微生物的多样性、研究方法和功能机制、共生微生物之间的互作以及在害虫防控中的应用等方面的研究进展进行综述和展望。随着分子微生态学、宏基因组测序等先进研究方法的不断开发应用,对农业昆虫害虫共生微生物研究的广度和深度都有了突破。发现共生微生物主要通过以下方式影响宿主昆虫：(1)合成营养物质或产生消化酶促进宿主生长发育、拓展宿主生态位;(2)产生保护性代谢物直接保护宿主抵御胁迫,或通过调控寄主植物的防御反应间接地保护宿主;(3)产生活性物质调控宿主的生殖、交配、聚集和运动等行为。昆虫共生微生物的种类和数量在一定时空范围内维持动态变化并对宿主表型产生重要影响,是宿主、环境、共生微生物互作因素之间收益权衡的结果。因此建议进一步开展以下研究：影响共生体形成和维持的分子机制;在更多时空维度上研究共生微生物、宿主、寄主、天敌和环境之间的复杂相互作用;通过定向调控共生体设计绿色高效的害虫防治策略。     

我国小麦赤霉病成灾原因分析及防控策略探讨

小麦是世界上三大粮食作物之一,是全球30亿以上人口的主粮。近年来,由于各种病虫害危害,全球小麦生产和粮食安全受到严重威胁,其中由禾谷镰刀菌引起的小麦赤霉病是小麦生产上重要的病害之一。此外,病菌会产生多种真菌毒素对人畜生命健康构成严重威胁。化学药剂的使用以及抗病品种的种植可以有效地控制小麦赤霉病的发生。但是,由于高产优质抗病品种匮乏、气候变暖等因素影响,小麦赤霉病在我国小麦主产区频繁暴发;同时,赤霉病菌抗药性产生致使化学农药的防控效果大大降低。从气候变化、耕作制度改变、小麦品种抗性及病菌抗药性等方面,分析了赤霉病暴发成灾的主要原因。在此基础上,结合当前赤霉病防控研究进展以及存在的科学问题,探讨该病害持续绿色防控的对策建议,以期为我国小麦赤霉病的防控研究提供参考。     

肠道微生物调控宿主食欲的研究进展

肠道微生物与宿主代谢相互作用,可调节机体的生理功能。宿主机体中存在"微生物-肠道-大脑轴",肠道菌群可通过多种途径影响中枢神经系统,进而对宿主摄食等行为产生影响。食物中不易被宿主消化吸收的膳食纤维等营养物质,被肠道微生物发酵可产生多种代谢产物,这些代谢产物作为信号分子可通过不同途径介导中枢神经系统,进而调控宿主食欲。本文主要综述了肠道微生物及其代谢产物对中枢神经系统与宿主食欲的影响及其可能的调控途径与机制,以加深肠道微生物在调控宿主食欲方面的新认识。     

非编码RNA调控流感病毒复制的作用及相关机制研究进展

流感病毒是一种重要人畜共患病,严重危害人类健康和畜牧业发展。A型流感病毒（Influenza A Virus, IAV）在宿主细胞内的复制受到多种因素的影响和调节,近年来的研究证明,非编码RNA(ncRNA),包括miRNA、LncRNA、CirRNA等,在流感病毒复制过程中起到重要的调控作用。ncRNA调控流感病毒复制有直接途径和间接途径两种,其中直接途径为直接作用于病毒的vRNA或mRNA,在转录或翻译水平影响病毒的复制。间接途径为作用于细胞内不同的信号通路,通过影响细胞因子合成、诱导宿主细胞凋亡、引起细胞自噬反应等途径,影响病毒的复制。通常情况下,由宿主编码的ncRNA能够抑制病毒的复制,而由病毒编码的ncRNA能够减弱宿主细胞的抗病毒反应,促进病毒复制。通过总结和梳理近年来关于ncRNA调控流感病毒复制的研究,我们发现ncRNA能够作为调控增强宿主细胞抗病毒免疫、下调病毒转录和翻译的工具,有望开发成为抗流感病毒靶向药物。后续的机制研究应不局限于某一种或几种ncRNA的作用,而应在ncRNA在宿主细胞内的分泌机制、调控的分子网络等方面进行深层次的探究。     

布鲁氏菌免疫应答研究进展

布鲁氏菌病是一种由布鲁氏菌(Brucella)引起的人兽共患病,严重威胁家畜的健康养殖和人类健康。布病的发生和发展受到宿主、病原以及病原在宿主巨噬细胞内定殖等多种因素的影响。布鲁氏菌能在单核细胞尤其是巨噬细胞中生存,并引起机体产生免疫反应,但也是布病难以治愈的原因之一。探究和分析布鲁氏菌引起的免疫应答反应对于布病防控和新型疫苗开发具有重要的意义。现有研究发现,巨噬细胞的主动防御机制、树突状细胞以及由CD4~+和CD8~+亚群介导产生的IFN-γ、IL-12和TNF-α对于抵抗布鲁氏菌的感染十分重要,有关布鲁氏菌特异性免疫应答反应的研究大多集中于小鼠模型。现结合实验室自身研究内容,就国内外布鲁氏菌免疫或感染不同宿主后引起的免疫应答反应进展作一综述。     

细菌铁离子摄取系统与宿主免疫

铁是绝大多数细菌生存所必需的营养物质,参与了许多重要的生命过程。病原菌为了在宿主体内生长繁殖建立感染,进化出了多种从宿主体内摄取铁元素的机制。但过量的铁也会通过Fenton反应对细胞产生毒性,所以铁的摄取必须受到严格的调控。宿主为抵抗感染采取多种手段限制病原菌对于自身铁的利用,同时铁摄取系统也可以作为抗菌治疗的靶点。     

长链非编码RNA调控流感病毒感染致病的作用

长链非编码RNA(long non-coding RNAs, lncRNAs)是一类转录本长度超过200 nt的RNA分子,参与转录前调控、转录调控及转录后调控等生命活动.流感病毒的宿主谱较为广泛,能感染人、禽类、马(Equus caballus)和猪(Sus)等动物,曾引起多次世界性大流行,持续给人类健康、畜禽养殖造成重大威胁,且与宿主互作机制十分复杂.近年来研究表明,流感病毒感染宿主过程中能诱导机体产生大量lncRNAs,这些lncRNAs能与多种生物大分子互作,直接或间接在宿主的抗病毒途径或流感病毒的复制中发挥着重要调控作用.揭示这些lncRNAs在流感病毒感染、复制等过程中的功能,对于阐明流感病毒的致病机制具有重要意义.鉴于此,本文对在流感病毒感染中发挥重要调控作用的lncRNAs进行综述,旨在增强我们对lncRNAs的认识,为流感的防控提供借鉴和参考.     

群体感应及其在动物病原菌致病中的作用

摘要: 群体感应是指微生物群体某些基因的表达受到与群体密度相关的信号分子调控的现象。微生物以酰基高丝氨酸内酯化合物,某些短肽分子,呋喃酮类化合物,以及一些小分子物质为信号分子,介导不同的群体感应系统。各群体感应系统之间以平行协同或层次串连的方式组织起来调控微生物各种基因。众多病原菌致病基因的表达与群体感应密切相关,主要表现在：群体感应帮助微生物对宿主的侵袭和定殖;调控毒力因子的产生和作用于宿主;以及介导病原菌对宿主的免疫能力和药物抗性。进行群体感应对微生物致病过程调控的研究,将有利于从群体感应入手进行病原菌防控新策略的探索。     

A review of mycotoxin biosynthetic pathways: associated genes and their expressions under the influence of climatic factors

Fungal contamination of agricultural commodities, particularly by mycotoxigenic fungi, represents an enormous concern for global food security in terms of feeding the world's growing population with sufficient and safe food. Not only do they reduce crop yield and quality, but they also produce substantial numbers of mycotoxins, which pose serious adverse health effects in human and animals. As the genome of most mycotoxigenic species have been sequenced, the gene clusters involved in the biosynthesis of agriculturally important mycotoxins including aflatoxins, fumonisins, ochratoxins, zearalenone and trichothecenes, have been largely identified and characterised, with their roles elucidated by researchers. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge of genes involved in the biosynthetic pathways of mycotoxins. In addition, the influence of climatic factors including water, temperature and carbon dioxide on differential mycotoxin gene expressions have been highlighted. Overall, the relationship between the relative expression of key regulatory and structural genes under different environmental conditions is significantly correlated with mycotoxins production. This indicates that mycotoxin gene induction can be used as a reliable indicator or marker to monitor mycotoxin production pre-and-post harvest. Furthermore, current strategies to manage mycotoxin risks still require improvement. Thus, an accurate understanding of the molecular mechanisms of mycotoxin biosynthesis in mycotoxigenic species could help to develop an innovative, robust targeted control strategy. This could include the exploitation of novel compounds, which can inhibit biosynthetic genes, to minimise mycotoxin risks.     

Impact of food processing and detoxification treatments on mycotoxin contamination

Mycotoxins are fungal metabolites commonly occurring in food, which pose a health risk to the consumer. Maximum levels for major mycotoxins allowed in food have been established worldwide. Good agricultural practices, plant disease management, and adequate storage conditions limit mycotoxin levels in the food chain yet do not eliminate mycotoxins completely. Food processing can further reduce mycotoxin levels by physical removal and decontamination by chemical or enzymatic transformation of mycotoxins into less toxic products. Physical removal of mycotoxins is very efficient: manual sorting of grains, nuts, and fruits by farmers as well as automatic sorting by the industry significantly lowers the mean mycotoxin content. Further processing such as milling, steeping, and extrusion can also reduce mycotoxin content. Mycotoxins can be detoxified chemically by reacting with food components and technical aids; these reactions are facilitated by high temperature and alkaline or acidic conditions. Detoxification of mycotoxins can also be achieved enzymatically. Some enzymes able to transform mycotoxins naturally occur in food commodities or are produced during fermentation but more efficient detoxification can be achieved by deliberate introduction of purified enzymes. We recommend integrating evaluation of processing technologies for their impact on mycotoxins into risk management. Processing steps proven to mitigate mycotoxin contamination should be used whenever necessary. Development of detoxification technologies for high-risk commodities should be a priority for research. While physical techniques currently offer the most efficient post-harvest reduction of mycotoxin content in food, biotechnology possesses the largest potential for future developments.     

Disruption of a maize 9-lipoxygenase results in increased resistance to fungal pathogens and reduced levels of contamination with mycotoxin fumonisin

Plant oxylipins, produced via the lipoxygenase (LOX) pathway, function as signals in defense and development. In fungi, oxylipins are potent regulators of mycotoxin biosynthesis and sporogenesis. Previous studies showed that plant 9-LOX-derived fatty acid hydroperoxides induce conidiation and mycotoxin production. Here, we tested the hypothesis that oxylipins produced by the maize 9-LOX pathway are required by pathogens to produce spores and mycotoxins and to successfully colonize the host. Maize mutants were generated in which the function of a 9-LOX gene, ZmLOX3, was abolished by an insertion of a Mutator transposon in its coding sequence, which resulted in reduced levels of several 9-LOX-derived hydroperoxides. Supporting our hypothesis, conidiation and production of the mycotoxin fumonisin B1 by Fusarium verticillioides were drastically reduced in kernels of the lox3 mutants compared with near-isogenic wild types. Similarly, conidia production and disease severity of anthracnose leaf blight caused by Colletotrichum graminicola were significantly reduced in the lox3 mutants. Moreover, lox3 mutants displayed increased resistance to southern leaf blight caused by Cochliobolus heterostrophus and stalk rots caused by both F. verticillioides and C. graminicola. These data strongly suggest that oxylipin metabolism mediated by a specific plant 9-LOX isoform is required for fungal pathogenesis, including disease development and production of spores and mycotoxins.     

Meta-analytical study of productive and nutritional interactions of mycotoxins in growing pigs

A meta-analysis was carried out in order to study the association of mycotoxins with performance and organ weights in growing pigs. A total of 85 articles published between 1968 and 2010 were used, totaling 1012 treatments and 13 196 animals. The meta-analysis followed three sequential analyses: graphical, correlation and variance–covariance. The presence of mycotoxins in diets was seen to reduce the feed intake by 18% and the weight gain in 21% compared with the control group. Deoxynivalenol and aflatoxins were the mycotoxins with the greatest impact on the feed intake and growth of pigs, reducing by 26% and 16% in the feed intake and by 26% and 22% in the weight gain. The mycotoxin concentration in diets and the animal age at challenge were the variables that more improved the coefficient of determination in equations for estimating the effect of mycotoxins on weight gain. The mycotoxin effect on growth proved to be greater in younger animals. In addition, the residual analysis showed that the greater part of the variation in weight gain was explained by the variation in feed intake (87%). The protein and methionine levels in diets could influence the feed intake and the weight gain in challenged animals. The weight gain in challenged pigs showed a positive correlation with the methionine level in diets (0.68). The mycotoxin effect on growth was greater in males compared with the effect on females. The reduction in weight gain was of 15% in the female group and 19% in the male group. Mycotoxin presence in pig diets has interfered in the relative weight of the liver, the kidneys and the heart. Mycotoxins have an influence on performance and organ weight in pigs. However, the magnitude of the effects varies with the type and concentration of mycotoxin, sex and the animal age, as well as nutritional factors.     

Mycotoxicoses of domestic animals and their diagnosis

Mycotoxins have been named "agents in search of a disease," and the considerable progress in analytical methodology over the last 10 years has not changed this very much. The following are factors that contribute to the difficulty of making a diagnosis: (1) nonspecificity of lesions; (2) masking of mycotoxic effects by secondary effects, e.g., through immunosuppression; (3) late appearance of a lesion, e.g., bone marrow damage or neoplasia; (4) interaction of several mycotoxins or presence of other toxicants or deficiency states; (5) species variation in the response to the mycotoxin(s); (6) difficulty of linking a late appearing effect with a demonstrable cause; (7) low doses of mycotoxins may cause stimulating effects; and (8) not being aware of the potential of a mycotoxin as a causative factor in disease. The mycotoxins of major importance in Canada are trichothecenes, ochratoxin, zearalenone, and ergot. It is concluded that the significance of mycotoxins for animals in Canada is likely generally underestimated.     

Identification and Characterization of an Inhibitor of Trichothecene 3-O-Acetyltransferase,TRI101, by the Chemical Array Approach

Trichothecene 3-O-acetyltransferase (TRI101) is an indispensable enzyme for the biosynthesis of trichothecenes, a group of mycotoxins produced by Fusarium graminearum. In this study, an inhibitor of TRI101 was identified by chemical array analysis using compounds from the RIKEN Natural Products Depository (NPDepo) library. Although the addition of the identified enzyme inhibitor to the fungal culture did not inhibit trichothecene production, it can serve as a candidate lead compound in the development of a mycotoxin inhibitor that inactivates fungal defense mechanisms.     

Aspergillus flavus genomics: gateway to human and animal health, food safety, and crop resistance to diseases

Aspergillus flavus is an imperfect filamentous fungus that is an opportunistic pathogen causing invasive and non-invasive aspergillosis in humans, animals, and insects. It also causes allergic reactions in humans. A. flavus infects agricultural crops and stored grains and produces the most toxic and potent carcinogic metabolites such as aflatoxins and other mycotoxins. Breakthroughs in A. flavus genomics may lead to improvement in human health, food safety, and agricultural economy. The availability of A. flavus genomic data marks a new era in research for fungal biology, medical mycology, agricultural ecology, pathogenicity, mycotoxin biosynthesis, and evolution. The availability of whole genome microarrays has equipped scientists with a new powerful tool for studying gene expression under specific conditions. They can be used to identify genes responsible for mycotoxin biosynthesis and for fungal infection in humans, animals and plants. A. flavus genomics is expected to advance the development of therapeutic drugs and to provide information for devising strategies in controlling diseases of humans and other animals. Further, it will provide vital clues for engineering commercial crops resistant to fungal infection by incorporating antifungal genes that may prevent aflatoxin contamination of agricultural harvest.     

Emerging mycotoxin control. Current limits and regulations

Emerging mycotoxins are of a great importance due to their high occurrence in foods and feeds and their implication in pathologies. There is a need to control them both in pre- and post-harvest. However, the increasing drawbacks of chemical decontamination methods, makes the use of preventive methods more attractive. These are based on avoiding growth of mycotoxigenic fungi and mycotoxin accumulation in these substrates (by using reduced aw levels, and modifying other storage conditions) and the early detection of these mycotoxins by using simple and fast analysis techniques. At the same time, it is important to know the effect that industrial processing has on mycotoxin concentration in foods and feeds, because it may reduce the toxin content. Finally, maximum limits of mycotoxin concentration should be established for both foods and feeds.