Research project
36 | monthsOMI_TOX

Omics profiling of toxigenic fungi of agri-foods

Related toSpoke 03
Principal investigators
Simona Marianna Sanzani,Giuseppe Celano
Other partecipantsA. Ippolito, F. Faretra, R.M. De Miccolis Angelini, S. Pollastro, D. Gerin, A. Agnusdei, C. Abi Saad, O. Incerti

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  3. Omics profiling of toxigenic fungi of agri-foods

Project partners

Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro

Coordinator

Work packages involved

WP 3.1

Assessment of new and re-emerging risks in the food system

WP leader

Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro

Task involved

Task 3.1.1.

Standard protocols (ISO), whole genome sequencing (WGS), computational methodologies, and MetaOmic approaches (metagenomics, metatrascriptomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, culturomics and phenomics) will be applied for the identification and characterization of the new and (re)-emerging chemical and biological hazards in traditional products, related to climate changes, microbial evolution, and modifications in the manufacturing processes. Omics techniques will also be applied to study factors affecting the survival and the stress resistance mechanisms of pathogens and antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria during food processing and shelf life. In addition, a CAD-based automatic feature recognition procedure will be developed for hygienic design of food machinery, as a prerequisite for GMP in food production.

Project deliverables

D3.1.1.1.

Database of WGS data of foodborne pathogens (M24)

D3.1.1.2.

Omics protocols to evaluate food safety

State of the art

Among natural food contaminants, mycotoxins represent a major issue in food safety. Fungi often produce several metabolites of a given mycotoxin, and in some cases more than one chemical type is produced. Climate change has increased the occurrence of toxigenic genera and the manufacturing processes of agri-food products might contribute to increase the risk of contamination by emerging and re-emerging metabolites. The application of omics techniques might greatly contribute to better understanding the possible hazards of eating food contaminated by well-known toxigenic genera as Aspergillus or Penicillium, still poorly studied genera as Alternaria, or not yet recognized genera as Monilinia. Next-generation sequencing methods as well as metabolomic approaches might represent an excellent opportunity for rapid generation of data that can be used to develop assays to detect specific outbreak strains or new/ emerging pathogens and metabolites for which further risk evaluation is needed.

Operation plan

The research will involve different activities as reported below:

  • Selection of representative Aspergillus, Penicillium, Alternaria and/or Monilinia strains
    able to produce metabolites contaminating fruits and vegetables.
  • Selection of the metabolites of interest within each genus and consequent biosynthetic pathways.
  • Assessment by transcriptomic approaches of the differential expression of selected metabolic pathways relevant to the contamination by toxic metabolites in different storage/processing conditions. 
  • Assessment by metabolomic analyses of the production profile of the relevant selected strains in different storage/processing conditions.

Expected results

  • A list of fungal species, strains and related metabolites that might be representative of different putative risks for both consumers and producers.
  • Protocols for the transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling of selected pathogens.
  • Contribution to the understanding of the impact of the conditions of storage/processing on the regulation of secondary metabolism related to the contamination by toxic metabolites.
  • Contribution to the understanding of the impact of the conditions of storage/processing on the metabolic profile of pathogens of interest. 
  • Definition of the potential risks related to the fungal contamination following uncontrolled or unexpected processing/storage conditions to set up effective mitigating strategies.