Ochratoxins are a group of

mycotoxin A mycotoxin (from the Greek μύκης , "fungus" and τοξικός , "poisonous") is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by fungi and is capable of causing disease and death in both humans and other animals. The term 'mycotoxin' is usually rese ...

s produced by some ''

Aspergillus ' () is a genus consisting of several hundred mold species found in various climates worldwide. ''Aspergillus'' was first catalogued in 1729 by the Italian priest and biologist Pier Antonio Micheli. Viewing the fungi under a microscope, Miche ...

'' species (mainly ''A. ochraceus'' and A. ''carbonarius'', but also by 33% of ''A. niger'' industrial strains) and some ''

Penicillium ''Penicillium'' () is a genus of Ascomycota, ascomycetous fungus, fungi that is part of the mycobiome of many species and is of major importance in the natural environment, in food spoilage, and in food and drug production. Some members of th ...

'' species, especially ''P. verrucosum''. Ochratoxin A is the most prevalent and relevant fungal toxin of this group, while ochratoxins B and C are of lesser importance. Ochratoxin A is known to occur in commodities such as cereals, coffee, dried fruit, and red wine. It is possibly a human

carcinogen A carcinogen () is any agent that promotes the development of cancer. Carcinogens can include synthetic chemicals, naturally occurring substances, physical agents such as ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and biologic agents such as viruse ...

and is of special interest as it can be accumulated in the meat of animals. Exposure to ochratoxins through diet can cause acute toxicity in mammalian kidneys. Exposure to ochratoxin A has been associated with Balkan endemic nephropathy, a kidney disease with high mortality in people living near tributaries of the Danube River in Eastern Europe. It has been suggested that carriers of

allele An allele is a variant of the sequence of nucleotides at a particular location, or Locus (genetics), locus, on a DNA molecule. Alleles can differ at a single position through Single-nucleotide polymorphism, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), ...

s associated with

phenylketonuria Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an inborn error of metabolism that results in decreased metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine. Untreated PKU can lead to intellectual disability, seizures, behavioral problems, and mental disorders. It may also r ...

may have been protected from spontaneous abortion caused by ochratoxin exposure, providing a heterozygous advantage for the alleles despite the possibility of severe intellectual disability in the more rare instance of inheritance from both parents. Woolf, L. I. "The heterozygote advantage in phenylketonuria." (Letter) ''Am. J. Hum. Genet.'' 38: 773-775, 1986. File:Ochratoxin A structure.png, Ochratoxin A File:Ochratoxin B.png, Ochratoxin B File:Ochratoxin C.png, Ochratoxin C File:Ochratoxin TA.svg, Ochratoxin TA

References

External links

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Extensive information about mycotoxins and animal feed
{{Toxins Mycotoxins Ochratoxin Isochromenes