engleski

Power of Fungi and Mycotoxins in Health and Disease: Programme and Abstracts

The epidemiology of fungal infections has been changed over the last decade showing evolution of fungal diseases in humans, animals and plants. For example, species other than Candida albicans or Aspergillus fumigatus emerged in invasive mycoses in humans. These changes might be related to use of antimycotics in prophylaxis, alterations in host- opportunistic pathogen interactions and different types of immunosuppression. Thus, research in fungal biodiversity, improvement of identification methods, disclosure of the virulence factors and new approaches in antifungal therapy are of great importance in combating fungal diseases. The human activities in crop cultivation as well as current climate changes affect ecological niches of various plant pests including fungal plant pathogens and mycotoxin- producing species. Mycotoxins are known to exert a variety of toxic effects including hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, neurotoxicity, mutagenicity, carcinogenicity or immunosuppression. Among hundreds of known mycotoxins special attention is given to aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxin A (OTA), fumonisins (FBs), zearalenone (ZEA) and trichothecenes because they are the most frequently found mycotoxins in a variety of food. Average ingestion of single mycotoxin in European countries is rather low but mycotoxins often co- contaminate foodstuffs and outcome of mycotoxin mixtures intake are still poorly investigated. Hence, mycotoxin monitoring, development and/or improvement of detection methods as well as research on mycotoxin interactions in vivo and in vitro are important for development of new strategies for mycotoxin reduction and prevention of mycotoxicoses. The book of abstracts has 93 pages, programme of the symposium devided in 6 sessions including Emergent fungal pathogens in humans, Fungal diseases in animals, Fungal diseases in Plants, Distribution and Biodiversity of (Toxigenic) Fungi, Deleterious Effects of Single and Combined Mycotoxins, Mycotoxin Detection, Control and Reduction Strategies as well as Round table discussions (in Croatian) dedicated to mycotoxin deoxynivalenol, and 59 abstracts in English and 5 abstracts in Croatian.

Fungal pathogens; toxigenic fungi; mycotoxins; deoxynivalenol

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