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Fusariumspecies produce a secondary metabolite known as T-2 toxin, which is the primary and most harmful toxin found in type A trichothecenes. T-2 toxin is widely found in food and grain-based animal feed and endangers the health of both humans and animals. T-2 toxin exposure in humans and animals occurs primarily through food administration; therefore, the first organ that T-2 toxin targets is the gut. In this overview, the research progress, toxicity mechanism, and detoxification of the toxin T-2 were reviewed, and future research directions were proposed. T-2 toxin damages the intestinal mucosa and destroys intestinal structure and intestinal barrier function; furthermore, T-2 toxin disrupts the intestinal microbiota, causes intestinal flora disorders, affects normal intestinal metabolic function, and kills intestinal epidermal cells by inducing oxidative stress, inflammatory responses, and apoptosis. The primary harmful mechanism of T-2 toxin in the intestine is oxidative stress. Currently, selenium and plant extracts are mainly used to exert antioxidant effects to alleviate the enterotoxicity of T-2 toxin. In future studies, the use of genomic techniques to find upstream signaling molecules associated with T-2 enterotoxin toxicity will provide new ideas for the prevention of this toxicity. The purpose of this paper is to review the progress of research on the intestinal toxicity of T-2 toxin and propose new research directions for the prevention and treatment of T-2 toxin toxicity.

Streptomycesis an effective source of new natural bioherbicides. In this study, a novel isolated strain NEAU-HV44 showed strong inhibitory activity against Amaranthus retroflexusL. and was concluded to the genus Streptomyces. Strain NEAU-HV44 fermentation conditions were optimized to maximize the herbicidal activity. The supernatant of strain NEAU-HV44 could significantly control the growth of weeds (A. retroflexusL., Setaria viridis, Portulaca oleraceaL., and Chenopodium album) and crops (maize, soybean, wheat, Chinese cabbage, cucumber, tomato, and romaine lettuce) with dose-dependent in preemergence. Notably, weeds were more sensitive to a low-concentration supernatant extract than crops in preemergence. In postemergence, the 2 mg mL–1supernatant extract could significantly reduce the height and >50% biomass (fresh weight) of tested weeds. The supernatant extract could cause cell membrane destabilization and the cell death of weeds. In addition, the growth of tomato was also inhibited at a high concentration, but no obvious symptoms were observed on soybean and romaine lettuce after spraying the supernatant extract. Then two novel julichrome monomers, julichromes Q12(1) and Q13(2), and two known julichromes, julichrome Q3.3(3) and julichrome Q3.5(4), were isolated from the supernatant extract of strain NEAU-HV44 by bioactivity-guided approach. This is the first report of the herbicidal activity of julichromes. These four herbicidal compounds could inhibit the shoot and root growth of weeds at 0.2 mg mL–1, and compound 4could completely inhibit the growth of P. oleraceaL. Thus, julichromes (Q12, Q13, Q3.3, Q3.51–4) may be new bioherbicidal candidates.