Role of enniatins as emerging mycotoxins and their association with deoxynivalenol in plant, insect, animal and human systems.

Currently, mycotoxins are one of the most common contaminants worldwide, as outlined by the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed. Among these, deoxynivalenol (DON) is of great relevance due to its high toxic activity both in animals and humans. DON is mainly biosynthesized by Fusarium graminearum (FG), the most important causal agent of Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat. Beside this, other emerging mycotoxins such as enniatins (ENNs), mainly produced by another FHB pathogen, Fusarium avenaceum (FA), received the attention of the European Food Safety Authority with respect to their possible interactions with other mycotoxins and to chronic exposure from contaminated feeds and foods. While DON is a well-known mycotoxin, less is known about the role of ENNs, and their interactions with major mycotoxins on: fungal virulence, wheat plant defense signalling, interactions with microorganisms and insects, toxicity to animals and humans. Given that, the present project aims to investigate the role of ENNs in FA virulence and in bread wheat by the use of pure Enniatin B (one of the most commonly found forms of ENNs), ENNs producing, non-producing, and over-producing FA strains and their fungal filtrates. Moreover, the project will also elucidate the role of ENNs on wheat microbiome (including other FHB agents), FHB biocontrol agents (BCAs) and on wheat pests and their natural enemies. Finally, nutritional studies on dairy cows and an in vitro toxicological study on human intestinal barrier will elucidate possible ENNs impact on animal and human health. Additionally, pure DON, DON producing and non-producing FG strains and their fungal filtrates will be used to explore the possible effects associated with ENNs and DON combination in the different investigated systems. The project will be carried out by two research units: University of Perugia (UNIPG) and University of Milan (UNIMI). Four research groups with different, consolidated expertise in plant pathology (UNIPG-PATH), plant physiology (UNIPG-PHYS), entomology (UNIPG-ENTO) and biochemistry and experimental medicine (UNIPG-MED) will be involved in UNIPG activities. Two research groups with solid expertise in wheat microbiome and biocontrol (UNIMI-PATH) and in animal nutrition and feed safety (UNIMI-VET) will carry out UNIMI activities. This study will result in a better understanding of the ecological role of ENNs and will provide additional toxicological information for these mycotoxins increasingly present in Italian and worldwide grains. The main expected outcomes of this multisystemic approach will include the obtainment of a comprehensive knowledge on the role of ENNs and their interaction with DON: in fungal virulence; in wheat plant; in modelling FHB complex; in shaping the microbiome of wheat and on BCA developed against FHB and mycotoxins accumulation; towards wheat pests, beneficial insects and insect symbiotic bacteria; on animal health and feed safety; on human health.