One Health approach to mycotoxin surveillance: Biomarkers of subclinical fumonisins, DON, and zearalenone exposure in poultry

Authors: Shanmugasundaram, Revathi

Submitted to: World Mycotoxins Forum
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/25/2025
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: N/A

Technical Abstract: The One Health concept provides a holistic approach for addressing mycotoxin problems among animals, humans, and the environment, thereby providing a comprehensive solution for tackling mycotoxin exposure. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites present in both pre- and postharvest crops, feed, and food commodities. According to the BIOMIN 2024 mycotoxin survey, 90% of corn and corn by-products collected within the USA are contaminated with more than one mycotoxin. With corn being an integral part of poultry feed in the USA, the economic loss due to fumonisins (FUM), deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEN), and aflatoxin B1 (AFB) is estimated to be $900 million per year. FUM, DON, ZEN, and AFB account for at least 95% of the confirmed mycotoxicosis in the midwestern USA. Mycotoxins are metabolized to various degradation derivatives in several organs. In poultry species, DON is metabolized to DOM-1, DON-3a-sulfate, DON-3-GlcAc, and DON-15-GlcAc, while FUM is metabolized to hydroxy-FUM B1. However, there is a challenge in quantifying DON metabolites using LC-MS/MS in broilers because their limits of quantification (LOQ) are well below in chicken blood, excreta, and chyme samples. Therefore, it is critical to find suitable biomarkers for DON toxicity in poultry. Further, LC-MS/MS is unable to determine phase I and II mycotoxin metabolites and interaction products for which commercial standards are lacking. In poultry, similar to DON, the serum sphinganine to sphingosine ratio has been identified as a biomarker of FUM toxicity. However, FUM contamination was identified in the chicken feed, liver, and muscle; the birds did not show any clinical signs of mycotoxicity. Thereby questioning the validity of utilizing FUM content in the feed or biological samples as a biomarker for FUM contamination in poultry. This leads to underestimation of mycotoxin levels in foodstuffs and potentially increased health risks to consumers. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged in recent years as a promising new class of biomarker for monitoring toxicity. miRNAs have been identified as desirable molecular biomarkers of various toxins because miRNAs are responsive to acute environmental cues, often altering their expression prior to pathophysiological changes. We identified nine potential liver miRNAs: gga-let-7a-5p (14.17-fold), gga-miR-9-5p (7.05-fold), gga-miR-217-5p (16.87-fold), gga-miR-133a-3p (7.41-fold), and gga-miR-215-5p (6.93-fold) were upregulated in response to combined doses of 21.0 FB1 + 3.0 DON + 1.0 ZEA mg/kg diet. Further, significant increases of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and 58% and 73% creatine kinase (CK) levels, and gut permeability (p < 0.05) in response to multiple mycotoxins exposure well below the FDA guidelines. In conclusion, serum FITC-d, AST, CK, and liver miRNAs could serve as potential biomarkers for detecting combined mycotoxin concentration doses above 1 mg/kg diet in broiler chickens as early as d14. Thereby, miRNAs act as multipurpose biomarkers in toxicodynamics, and studying miRNAs will help to biomonitoring mycotoxin toxicity in poultry.