About this Research Topic
Infection or contamination of crops by fungi, including those that produce toxic secondary metabolites (mycotoxins), is a recurring food safety, food security and public health concern. Effective intervention strategies for control of fungicide-resistant pathogens are sometimes limited. For example, the prevalence of the Aspergillus flavus QoI fungicide-resistant strains recently became the root cause of the high aflatoxin (AF) contamination and poor seed quality in crops. The antifungal polyene drugs natamycin (NAT) contains the conjugated double bonds in the structure that provides high affinity to membranes in most fungal species. Besides medical applications, NAT has been used in industry for preserving foods and crops.
Therefore, there has been interest in whether the broad utility of NAT can trigger the emergence of fungi cross-resistant to other antifungal agents. Azoles are also used as antifungals for treating clinical and agricultural fungal pathogens. The triazole class of fungicides are demethylase inhibitors that inhibit lanosterol 14 alpha-demethylases (cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes) and disrupt cell membrane biosynthesis. Noteworthy, azole fungicides such as propiconazole or tebuconazole that are applied to agricultural fields have the same mechanism of antifungal action as clinical azole drugs.
Hence, long-term application of azole fungicides to crop fields could provide environmental selection pressure for the emergence of pan-azole-resistant fungal pathogens including the clinical Aspergillus fumigatus as well as agricultural fungal pathogens. The correlation between the increased mycotoxin production and fungicide resistance has also been detected. For instance, azole resistance in the aflatoxigenic A. flavus was caused by the mutations in cyp51C gene, whereas two homologous cyp51 genes, cyp51A and cyp51B, have been identified in the other AF producer Aspergillus parasiticus; cyp51 mutants produced AF at concentrations significantly higher than the wild type strain.
This research topic invites both reviews, original articles, mini-review, perspective, brief research report, or opinion describing recent progress on the control of fungi, including that produce toxic secondary metabolites (mycotoxins; fumonisins, aflatoxins, ochratoxins, patulin, trichothecenes, citrinin, etc.), resistance management as well as elucidating the mechanism of fungal response to environmental cues.
Therefore, there has been interest in whether the broad utility of NAT can trigger the emergence of fungi cross-resistant to other antifungal agents. Azoles are also used as antifungals for treating clinical and agricultural fungal pathogens. The triazole class of fungicides are demethylase inhibitors that inhibit lanosterol 14 alpha-demethylases (cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes) and disrupt cell membrane biosynthesis. Noteworthy, azole fungicides such as propiconazole or tebuconazole that are applied to agricultural fields have the same mechanism of antifungal action as clinical azole drugs.
Hence, long-term application of azole fungicides to crop fields could provide environmental selection pressure for the emergence of pan-azole-resistant fungal pathogens including the clinical Aspergillus fumigatus as well as agricultural fungal pathogens. The correlation between the increased mycotoxin production and fungicide resistance has also been detected. For instance, azole resistance in the aflatoxigenic A. flavus was caused by the mutations in cyp51C gene, whereas two homologous cyp51 genes, cyp51A and cyp51B, have been identified in the other AF producer Aspergillus parasiticus; cyp51 mutants produced AF at concentrations significantly higher than the wild type strain.
This research topic invites both reviews, original articles, mini-review, perspective, brief research report, or opinion describing recent progress on the control of fungi, including that produce toxic secondary metabolites (mycotoxins; fumonisins, aflatoxins, ochratoxins, patulin, trichothecenes, citrinin, etc.), resistance management as well as elucidating the mechanism of fungal response to environmental cues.
Keywords: Antifungals, Fungicide, Mycotoxins
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