Critical assessment of Streptomyces spp. able to control toxigenic fusaria in cereals : a literature and patent review

Mycotoxins produced by Fusarium species on cereals represent a major concern for food safetyworldwide. Fusariumtoxinsthatarecurrentlyunderregulationfortheircontentinfoodinclude trichothecenes, fumonisins, and zearalenone. Biological control of Fusarium spp. has been widely explored with the aim of limiting disease occurrence, but few efforts have focused so far on limiting toxin accumulation in grains. The bacterial genus Streptomyces is responsible for the production of numerous drug molecules and represents a huge resource for the discovery of new molecules. Streptomycesspp. arealsoefficientplantcolonizersandabletoemploydifferentmechanismsofcontrol against toxigenic fungi on cereals. This review describes the outcomes of research using Streptomyces strains and/or their derived molecules to limit toxin production and/or contamination of Fusarium species in cereals. Both the scientific and patent literature were analyzed, starting from the year 2000, and we highlight promising results as well as the current pitfalls and limitations of this approach.