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<OL> <LI> Determine if Fusarium sp. toxins, alone or in combination, alter the effects of other mycotoxins, increase susceptibility to infectious diseases, or produce chronic toxicity. <LI>Determine mechanisms of action, and use them as bioassay tools and as criteria to evaluate control and decontamination methods.<LI> Determine effects of processing of Fusarium contaminated corn on mycotoxin content of final products.
Use in vivo and in vitro methods to assess whether Fusarium toxins or other mycotoxins that co-occur naturaly contribute to acute or chornic diseases. In vivo studies will include pathology, reproduction, and fate and distribution. In vitro studies will be done with primary cultures and cell lines, tissue slices, or cell fractions. Endpoints will include enzyme release, cell respiration, DNA alterations,and inhibition of protein synthesis. Disruption of sphingolipid metabolism by fumonisins will be studied in depth to help determine how fumonisins contribute to animal diseases, and whether it is related to the reputed non-genotoxic carcinogenicity of fumonisins. The effect of processing of corn on fumonisins, and occurrence of toxins with fumonisin-like activity will be studied by chemical analysis and mechanism-based bioassays.