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<p>Objective 1: Develop data for use in risk assessment of mycotoxins in human and animal health. </p><p>Objective 2: Establish integrated strategies to manage and reduce mycotoxin contamination in cereals and in forages. </p><p>Objective 3. Better Understand the Biology and Ecology of Mycotoxigenic Fungi.</p>
Mycotoxins and the fungi that produce them are major health hazards and commercial uses of contaminated materials are limited. Identification of the fungi that produce these toxins remains difficult, and there are significant taxonomic discrepancies that remain to be resolved. Improving identification requires research to identify significant species and subgroups within species and educational efforts to train scientists and plant diagnosticians how to identify these significant groups. In addition, we will maintain critical strains for long-term access to them from the fungal research community. The availability of these strains allows research results to be readily standardized as effects of genetic background can be minimized. Most strains of Fusarium have the genetic capacity to synthesize multiple secondary metabolites, many of which are mycotoxins. By analyzing progeny of an inter-species cross we can identify strains that produce novel combinations of these secondary metabolites and determine if the co-production of the metabolites changes the pathogenicity or toxicity of the strains towards their plant hosts.