Tenuazonic acid

Mycotoxins are abiotic hazards produced by certain fungi that can grow on a variety of crops. Consequently, their prevalence in plant raw materials may be relatively high. The concentration of mycotoxins in finished products is usually lower than in raw materials. In this review, occurrence and toxicology of the main mycotoxins are summarised. Furthermore, methodological approaches for exposure assessment are described. Existing exposure assessments, both through contamination and consumption data and biomarkers of exposure, for the main mycotoxins are also discussed.

The heterocycle in the title compound {systematic name: (5S)-5-[(1S)-1-methyl-prop-yl]pyrrolidine-2,4-dione}, C(8)H(13)NO(2), is planar (r.m.s. deviation for all non-H atoms = 0.008 Å). The crystal structure is stabilized by N-H⋯O hydrogen bonding.

Tenuazonic acid (TeA) is a toxin produced by the rice blast fungus Pyricularia oryzae. Although knockout of the TeA biosynthetic gene TAS1 did not affect the virulence of P. oryzae, constitutive TAS1 expression suppressed its infection. TAS1 expression was induced alongside transition of P. oryzae infection behavior. The results suggested that controlling TeA biosynthesis is important for P. oryzae infection.