Microbial degradation of deoxynivalenol

Mycotoxin contamination of food and feed poses major risks for human or animal health and leads to economic losses. Prevention and intervention measures are very well described on the field, but still contaminated batches remain a reality in practice. In order to salvage these resources, feed remediation based on mycotoxin adsorption is already applied through the use of binders. However, adsorption is reversible, pH-depending and non-specific. Moreover, these binders negatively influence the transfer of medication to the bloodstream. Therefore, there is need to develop more reliable detoxification strategies. This research focuses on the microbial degradation of mycotoxins, in particularly deoxynivalenol (DON) which frequently occurs in crops in Belgium. Several microbial communities with a possible exposure history to mycotoxins or other complex molecules, are screened for the presence of DON degrading microorganisms. Enrichment cultures of soil and activated sludge showed degradation of DON after two weeks, as analyzed with ELISA, whereas detoxification of DON was confirmed with a bio-assay using Lemna minor. Subsequently, several strains, among which one promising isolate related to Streptomyces sp. (derived from soil), have been purified and characterization of their degrading capacities is ongoing