Structure and conformational dynamics of trichothecene mycotoxins

Disclosure of the Molecular Mechanism of Wheat Leaf Spot Disease Caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana through Comparative Transcriptome and Metabolomics Analysis

Wheat yield is greatly reduced because of the occurrence of leaf spot diseases. Bipolaris sorokiniana is the main pathogenic fungus in leaf spot disease. In this study, B. sorokiniana from wheat leaf (W-B. sorokiniana) showed much stronger pathogenicity toward wheat than endophytic B. sorokiniana from Pogostemon cablin (P-B. sorokiniana). The transcriptomes and metabolomics of the two B. sorokiniana strains and transcriptomes of B. sorokiniana-infected wheat leaves were comparatively analyzed. In addition, the expression levels of unigenes related to pathogenicity, toxicity, and cell wall degradation were predicted and validated by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis. Results indicated that pathogenicity-related genes, especially the gene encoding loss-of-pathogenicity B (LopB) protein, cell wall-degrading enzymes (particularly glycosyl hydrolase-related genes), and killer and Ptr necrosis toxin-producing related unigenes in the W-B. sorokiniana played important roles in the pathogenicity of W-B. sorokiniana toward wheat. The down-regulation of cell wall protein, photosystem peptide, and rubisco protein suggested impairment of the phytosynthetic system and cell wall of B. sorokiniana-infected wheat. The up-regulation of hydrolase inhibitor, NAC (including NAM, ATAF1 and CUC2) transcriptional factor, and peroxidase in infected wheat tissues suggests their important roles in the defensive response of wheat to W-B. sorokiniana. This is the first report providing a comparison of the transcriptome and metabolome between the pathogenic and endophytic B. sorokiniana strains, thus providing a molecular clue for the pathogenic mechanism of W-B. sorokiniana toward wheat and wheat's defensive response mechanism to W-B. sorokiniana. Our study could offer molecular clues for controlling the hazard of leaf spot and root rot diseases in wheat, thus improving wheat yield in the future.

Occurrence of Mycotoxins in Botanical Dietary Supplement Infusion Beverages

The aim of the present work was to study the occurrence of mycotoxins [aflatoxins (1-4), 3-acetyldeoxyniavlenol (5), 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (6), nivalenol (7), HT-2 (8), T-2 (9), ochratoxin A (10), zearalenone (11), enniatin A (12), enniatin A1 (13), enniatin B (14), enniatin B1 (15), and beauvericin (16)] present in potable products derived from herbal teas. Analysis was carried out by liquid chromatography coupled to ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS-IT) after a dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction procedure (DLLME) was conducted. The DLLME method was applied to 52 commercial samples of chamomile, chamomile with anise, chamomile with honey, linden, pennyroyal mint, thyme, valerian, and horsetail beverages. The results obtained showed that the following mycotoxins were detected in the samples: 2 (19.1 to 134.7 μg/L), 3 (below the limit of quantification), and 4 (2.2 to 13.5 μg/L). Also, 6 was detected in one sample at 112.5 μg/L, and 14 was detected only in two samples, although at very low concentration levels. Pennyroyal mint and thyme showed the highest concentration levels of mycotoxins. A risk assessment, however, showed negative results regarding the consumption of herbal tea beverages and the presence of mycotoxins.

Three new tetralol analogs from soil-derived fungus Myrothecium verrucaria with anti-inflammatory activity

Three new tetralol analogs, myrochromanols A-C (1-3), together with 11 known trichothecenes (4-14), were isolated from a soil fungus Myrothecium verrucaria HL-P-1. The structures of the three new compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis including HRESIMS, NMR, and ECD calculation. All of the new compounds were tested for their anti-inflammatory activity and cytotoxicity. Compounds 1 and 3 inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced NO production in BV2 cells with IC₅₀ values of 26.04 and 25.80 μM, respectively.

Solvent and Water Mediated Structural Variations in Deoxynivalenol and Their Potential Implications on the Disruption of Ribosomal Function

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a disease of cereal crops caused by trichothecene producing Fusarium species. Trichothecenes, macrocylicic fungal metabolites composed of three fused rings (A-C) with one epoxide functionality, are a class of mycotoxins known to inhibit protein synthesis in eukaryotic ribosomes. These toxins accumulate in the kernels of infected plants rendering them unsuitable for human and animal consumption. Among the four classes of trichothecenes (A-D) A and B are associated with FHB, where the type B trichothecene deoxynivalenol (DON) is most relevant. While it is known that these toxins inhibit protein synthesis by disrupting peptidyl transferase activity, the exact mechanism of this inhibition is poorly understood. The three-dimensional structures and H-bonding behavior of DON were evaluated using one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy techniques. Comparisons of the NMR structure presented here with the recently reported crystal structure of DON bound in the yeast ribosome reveal insights into the possible toxicity mechanism of this compound. The work described herein identifies a water binding pocket in the core structure of DON, where the 3OH plays an important role in this interaction. These results provide preliminary insights into how substitution at C3 reduces trichothecene toxicity. Further investigations along these lines will provide opportunities to develop trichothecene remediation strategies based on the disruption of water binding interactions with 3OH.

Two Trichothecene Mycotoxins from Myrothecium roridum Induce Apoptosis of HepG-2 Cells via Caspase Activation and Disruption of Mitochondrial Membrane Potential

Trichothecene mycotoxins are a type of sesquiterpenoid produced by various kinds of plantpathogenic fungi. In this study, two trichothecene toxins, namely, a novel cytotoxic epiroridin acid and a known trichothecene, mytoxin B, were isolated from the endophytic fungus Myrothecium roridum derived from the medicinal plant Pogostemon cablin. The two trichothecene mytoxins were confirmed to induce the apoptosis of HepG-2 cells by cytomorphology inspection, DNA fragmentation detection, and flow cytometry assay. The cytotoxic mechanisms of the two mycotoxins were investigated by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction, western blot, and detection of mitochondrial membrane potential. The results showed that the two trichothecene mycotoxins induced the apoptosis of cancer cell HepG-2 via activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3, up-regulation of bax gene expression, down-regulation of bcl-2 gene expression, and disruption of the mitochondrial membrane potential of the HepG-2 cell. This study is the first to report on the cytotoxic mechanism of trichothecene mycotoxins from M. roridum. This study provides new clues for the development of attenuated trichothecene toxins in future treatment of liver cancer.

Current and future experimental strategies for structural analysis of trichothecene mycotoxins--a prospectus

Fungal toxins, such as those produced by members of the order Hypocreales, have widespread effects on cereal crops, resulting in yield losses and the potential for severe disease and mortality in humans and livestock. Among the most toxic are the trichothecenes. Trichothecenes have various detrimental effects on eukaryotic cells including an interference with protein production and the disruption of nucleic acid synthesis. However, these toxins can have a wide range of toxicity depending on the system. Major differences in the phytotoxicity and cytotoxicity of these mycotoxins are observed for individual members of the class, and variations in toxicity are observed among different species for each individual compound. Furthermore, while diverse toxicological effects are observed throughout the whole cellular system upon trichothecene exposure, the mechanism of toxicity is not well understood. In order to comprehend how these toxins interact with the cell, we must first have an advanced understanding of their structure and dynamics. The structural analysis of trichothecenes was a subject of major interest in the 1980s, and primarily focused on crystallographic and solution-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopic studies. Recent advances in structural determination through solution- and solid-state NMR, as well as computation based molecular modeling is leading to a resurgent interest in the structure of these and other mycotoxins, with the focus shifting in the direction of structural dynamics. The purpose of this work is to first provide a brief overview of the structural data available on trichothecenes and a characterization of the methods commonly employed to obtain such information. A summary of the current understanding of the relationship between structure and known function of these compounds is also presented. Finally, a prospectus on the application of new emerging structural methods on these and other related systems is discussed.

DFT-GIAO 1H and 13C NMR prediction of chemical shifts for the configurational assignment of 6beta-hydroxyhyoscyamine diastereoisomers

(1)H and (13)C NMR chemical shift calculations using the density functional theory-gauge including/invariant atomic orbitals (DFT-GIAO) approximation at the B3LYP/6-311G++(d,p) level of theory have been used to assign both natural diastereoisomers of 6beta-hydroxyhyoscyamine. The theoretical chemical shifts of the (1)H and (13)C atoms in both isomers were calculated using a previously determined conformational distribution, and the theoretical and experimental values were cross-compared. For protons, the obtained average absolute differences and root mean square (rms) errors for each comparison showed that the experimental chemical shifts of dextrorotatory and levorotatory 6beta-hydroxyhyoscyamines correlated well with the theoretical values calculated for the (3R,6R,2'S) and (3S,6S,2'S) configurations, respectively, whereas for (13)C atoms the calculations were unable to differentiate between isomers. The nature of the relatively large chemical shift differences observed in nuclei that share similar chemical environments between isomers was asserted from the same calculations. It is shown that the anisotropic effect of the phenyl group in the tropic ester moiety, positioned under the tropane ring, has a larger shielding effect over one ring side than over the other one.

Structural reassignment, absolute configuration, and conformation of hypurticin, a highly flexible polyacyloxy-6-heptenyl-5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one

The structural reassignment, absolute configuration, and conformational behavior of the highly flexible natural product hypurticin (pectinolide E), 6S-[3'S,5'R,6'S-triacetoxy-1Z-heptenyl]-5S-acetoxy-5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one (1), were ascertained by a molecular modeling protocol, which includes extensive conformational searching, geometry optimization by DFT B3LYP/DGDZVP calculations, and comparison between the theoretical (DFT) and experimental (1)H-(1)H NMR coupling constants. Hyptolide (2), a related cytotoxic 5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one that increased the S phase of the HeLa cell cycle, was employed as a reference substance to validate the theoretical protocol designed to characterize the 3D properties of compound 1. The related synthetic derivative, tri-O-acetyl-3,6-dideoxy-d-glucose diphenyldithioacetal (14), was prepared by a six-step reaction sequence starting from d-glucose and served as an enantiopure building block to reinforce the structural and configurational assignment of 1. This protocol proved to be an important tool for the structural characterization of highly flexible bioactive polyoxygenated natural products.

Conformational properties of the macrocyclic trichothecene mycotoxin verrucarin A in solution

Phase-sensitive nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy (NOESY) experiments, (3)J couplings and computational molecular modeling (MM2* and MMFF force fields) were employed to examine the conformational properties of verrucarin A in chloroform solutions. The MMFF force field calculations resulted in a family of 12 low-energy structures along with their populations, the latter being determined by the NMR analysis of molecular flexibility in solution(NAMFIS) deconvolution analysis. The concluded model was capable of reproducing successfully the experimental NOESY cross-peak volumes and the proton-coupling constants. Among the 12 conformers, the one which was similar to the structure of verrucarin A in the solid state was the predominant accounting for 75% of the total relative population, although other low-energy conformations contributed to a lesser degree in order to explain the experimental data.