Sometimes it can be deadly, but usually it’s bothersome because it hampers ethanol production and can make livestock or people sick.
It’s more of a problem in the Southern United States, but sometimes contaminates Ontario grain harvests.
What’s more interesting for Canadians is the possibility that the same research approach might work to detoxify DON which is a much bigger problem with harvests of wheat and corn.
The research team at London learned that nitrogen is necessary in the toxicity of fumonosin and they learned how they can eliminate the nitrogen.
That converts toxic fumonosin into a safe substance.
Dr. Mark Sumarah, a mycotoxin and fungal expert at the London Research and Development Centre, was working on corhotoxin A of grapes and looking into th role of Aspergillus fungi in generating that problem.
That’s when he learned that Aspergillus also produces fumonosin, but this fumonosin did not have a nitrogen molecule.
“This made us very curious,” said Sumarah, referring to his partner Dr. Justin Renaud.
Then enzyme specialist Dr. Chris Garnham identified the enzyme that produces nitrogen and began working with Lallemand Inc. through a Canadian Agricultural Partnership project to commercially develop the enzyme for the detoxification of fumonisins.
Quebec-based Lallemand has applied for a patent on the enzyme.
