Recent advances in biosynthesis and regulatory mechanisms of principal mycotoxins

Filamentous fungi possess a wide diversity of metabolic pathways, among which the production of mycotoxins and the resultant contamination of agricultural commodities cause severe health impacts on humans and animals. Understanding the biology, ecology, and genetics of mycotoxin biosynthesis is fundamental to counteract its spread in food and feed products and reduce the human and animal health risk. The gene clusters responsible for the biosynthesis of mycotoxins of agricultural importance, including aflatoxins, fumonisins, ochratoxins, patulin, citrinin, and trichothecenes, have been mostly identified and characterized. However, due to the complex organization of fungal secondary metabolisms and interaction with climatic, environmental, and biotic factors, numerous new researches have been recently published on structural, regulatory, and epigenetics mechanisms underlying mycotoxin biosynthesis. This review provides an overview of the recent new insight into understanding genes, molecular mechanisms, and factors involved in biosynthesis regulation of the principal mycotoxins.