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Perennial grains provide various ecosystem services compared to the annual counterparts thanks to their extensive root system and permanent soil cover. However, little is known about the evolution and diversification of perennial grains rhizosphere and its ecological functions over time. In this study, a suite of -OMICSs - metagenomics, enzymomics, metabolomics and lipidomics - was used to compare the rhizosphere environment of four perennial wheat lines at the first and fourth year of growth in comparison with an annual durum wheat cultivar and the parental species Thinopyrum intermedium. We hypothesized that wheat perenniality has a greater role in shaping the rhizobiome composition, biomass, diversity, and activity than plant genotypes because perenniality affects the quality and quantity of C input – mainly root exudates – hence modulating the plant-microbes crosstalk. In support of this hypothesis, the continuous supply of sugars in the rhizosphere along the years created a favorable environment for microbial growth which is reflected in a higher microbial biomass and enzymatic activity. Moreover, modification in the rhizosphere metabolome and lipidome over the years led to changes in the microbial community composition favoring the coexistence of more diverse microbial taxa, increasing plant tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Despite the dominance of the perenniality effect, our data underlined that the OK72 line rhizobiome distinguished from the others by the increase in abundance of Pseudomonas spp., most of which are known as potential beneficial microorganisms, identifying this line as a suitable candidate for the study and selection of new perennial wheat lines.

Plant biodiversity preservation is one of the most important priorities of today’s agriculture. Wheat (Triticum spp. L.) is widely cultivated worldwide, mostly under a conventional and monovarietal farming method, leading to progressive biodiversity erosion. On the contrary, the evolutionary population (EP) cultivation technique is characterized by mixing and sowing together as many wheat genotypes as possible to allow the crop to genetically adapt over the years in relation to specific pedoclimatic conditions. The objective of this study was to assess the nutritional, chemical and sensory qualities of three different breads obtained using different organic EP flours, produced following a traditional sourdough process and compared to a commercial wheat cultivar bread. Technological parameters, B-complex vitamins, microelements, dietary fibre and phenolic acids were determined in raw materials and final products. Flours obtained by EPs showed similar characteristics to the commercial wheat cultivar flour. However, significant differences on grain technological quality were found. The breads were comparable with respect to chemical and nutritional qualities. Overall, the sensory panellists rated the tasted breads positively assigning the highest score to those produced with EPs flours (6.75–7.02) as compared to commercial wheat cultivar-produced bread (cv. Bologna, 6.36).

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of breads made with two different wheat evolutionary populations (EPs), compared with a modern variety, on postprandial blood glucose and insulin responses. A randomized controlled crossover postprandial study involving 12 healthy subjects was conducted. Seven non-commercial breads produced with flours from two different bread wheat (T. aestivum L.) EPs (Bio2, ICARDA) and a modern bread wheat variety (Bologna) were considered controls, with two different bread-making processes (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and sourdough), and were specifically formulated for the study. Postprandial incremental curves, incremental area under the curve (IAUC), maximum postprandial peaks for blood glucose and plasma insulin over 2 h after administration of isoglucidic portions of breads (50 g of available carbohydrates) were evaluated. The comparison of incremental curves, IAUC, and maximum postprandial peaks after consumption of breads formulated with EPs and control breads showed no differences among samples. Neither the flour nor the leavening technic used for the baking were effective in inducing a different postprandial response compared with the Bologna variety. EPs, being characterized by higher degree of crop genetic diversity, may have a relevant agronomic role to guarantee good and stable yields and quality under low input management in a changing climate; however, future studies are needed to better investigate their potential positive effect on human health.

The recent hyphenation of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) with high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) has risen as a powerful technique for both targeted and non-targeted screening, reducing background noise and allowing separation of isomeric and isobaric compounds. Nevertheless, such an approach remains largely unexplored in food safety applications, such as mycotoxin analysis. To implement ion mobility in routinely MS-based mycotoxin workflows, searchable databases with collusion cross section (CCS) values and accurate mass-values are required. This paper provides for the first time a traveling-wave IMS (TWIMS)-derived CCS database for mycotoxins, including more than 100 CCS values. The measurements showed high reproducibility (RSD < 2%) across different instrumental conditions as well as several complex cereal matrices, showing a mean inter-matrix precision of RSD <0.9%. As a proof of concept, the database was applied to the analysis of several spiked as well as naturally incurred cereal-based samples. In addition, the effect of adducts on the drift time was studied in a series of mycotoxins in order to understand potential deviations from expected drift time behaviors. Overall, our study confirmed that CCS values represent a physicochemical property that can be used alongside the traditional molecular identifiers of precursor ion accurate mass, fragment ions, isotopic pattern, and retention time.

The mycotoxins zearalenone and alternariol may contaminate food and feed raising toxicological concerns due to their estrogenicity. Inter-species differences in their toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics may occur depending on evolution of taxa-specific traits. As a proof of principle, this manuscript investigates the comparative toxicodynamics of zearalenone, its metabolites (alpha-zearalenol and beta-zearalenol), and alternariol with regards to estrogenicity in humans and rainbow trout. An in silico structural approach based on docking simulations, pharmacophore modeling and molecular dynamics was applied and computational results were analyzed in comparison with available experimental data. The differences of estrogenicity among species of zearalenone and its metabolites have been structurally explained. Also, the low estrogenicity of alternariol in trout has been characterized here for the first time. This approach can provide a powerful tool for the characterization of interspecies differences in mycotoxin toxicity for a range of protein targets and relevant compounds for the food- and feed-safety area.

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by pathogenic fungi in crops worldwide. These compounds can undergo modification in plants, leading to the formation of a large number of possible modified forms, whose toxicological relevance and occurrence in food and feed is still largely unexplored. The analysis of modified mycotoxins by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry remains a challenge because of their chemical diversity, the large number of isomeric forms, and the lack of analytical standards. Here, the potential benefits of high-resolution and ion mobility mass spectrometry as a tool for separation and structure confirmation of modified mycotoxins have been investigated/reviewed.

Indigenous strains of lactic acid bacteria previously isolated from raw donkey milk samples were used to ferment donkey milk. Each sample was subjected to an in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion (SGID) and analysis of the digesta by HPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap XL was performed in order to obtain a comprehensive peptide profile of fermented donkey milk. Functional properties such as ACE-inhibitory, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the resulting fermented donkey milks, as well as characterization of the bioactive peptides produced by an in vitro SGID, were assayed. All bioactivities were found to be high in fermented milk and a further significant increase was observed after SGID. The Enterococcus faecium DM33 fermented milk exhibited the strongest antioxidant and the highest antimicrobial activities. The highest ACE-inhibitory activity was observed in milk fermented with Lactobacillus casei DM214. These findings will contribute to the development of a new functional dairy drink with anti-hypertensive, antimicrobial and/or antioxidant activities.

Fatty acid esters of fumonisins, namely oleoyl- and linoleoyl esters of fumonisin B1 (EFB1OA and EFB1LA, respectively), aremodified forms of fumonisinswhose formation and occurrence have been reported so far in naturally infected maize and in artificially inoculated rice. There is a lack of knowledge about the mechanismof formation, mainly in relation to the role played by the substrate. Therefore, in this work we studied the dynamics of accumulation of the toxin and its esters, togetherwith their precursor, in maize and rice based media inoculated with different strains of F. verticillioides and incubated at 25 °C for 7–45 days. The production pattern of FB1 and its modified forms was significantly influenced by growth media, reaching a higher concentration in cornmeal compared to rice based medium. Similarly, cornmeal was more supportive for the conversion of FB1 by considering the esterification rate, with a prevalence of linoleoyl esters compared to oleoyl esters resembling the OA/LA rate in both media. The conversion of FB1 into fatty acid esters was also shown as strain-related. Results, thus, strongly support the hypothesis that fatty acid esters of FB1 are produced by the fungus itself at a late stage of growth, or at a certain point of FB1 accumulation in themedium, using fatty acids fromthe substrate.

The aim of this work was to study the dynamic profile of mycotoxin producing fungi and free and hidden fumonisins into raw maize collected in 28 fields and derived products. The maize bulk was stored in a commercial silo and used for milling. The reliability of the sampling approach, applied in different points at maize harvest-drying, was preliminary tested in this study. Fusarium section Liseola included the prevalent fungi in maize kernels; sampling, in field at harvest and at the storehouse, gave comparable results, while a reduction in fungi colony forming units was noticed after drying, attributed to the thermal treatment. Similar amounts of free and hidden fumonisins were detected, irrespective of the sampling step; this confirmed the reliability of the sampling approach. During silo discharge, till to 10 month storage, a significant decrease resulted both in free and total fumonisins. A significant increase of the free-to-total fumonisins ratio was observed moving from stored kernels to commercial flour, suggesting that milling leads to a reduction of the masked fraction. This result, together with the increase of free fumonisins after maize drying should be considered in future studies.