Micromycetes of the Genus Alternaria Are Producers of Emerging Mycotoxins: Analysis of Profile and Toxinogenic Potential In Vitro

Micromycetes from the genus Alternaria are commonly found in plant food raw materials, and their produced emerging mycotoxins (EMT) pose a risk to human health. Based on polyphase taxonomy, we studied the species composition of the Alternaria spp. population in samples of Russian grain and berries; non-toxinogenic species of Alternaria of the Infectoriae section and toxinogenic species of the Alternaria section were found. Using in vitro HPLC-MS/MS, a high potential for EMT production was revealed in strains from the Alternaria section: alternariol and alternariol methyl ester, tenuazonic acid, altenuene, and tentoxin. These findings indicate that species of the Alternaria section play a significant role in the contamination of plant foods with EMT. The proposed algorithm for in vitro analysis of toxin formation can be implemented in screening for toxin-producing species within the Alternaria spp. population, allowing the differentiation of chemotypes and an expansion of the understanding of the biodiversity within the Alternaria spp. population.