2. Academic Validation
  3. Production of ETP-Type (Epipolythiodioxopiperazine) Mycotoxins in Clinical Fungal Isolates

Production of ETP-Type (Epipolythiodioxopiperazine) Mycotoxins in Clinical Fungal Isolates

  • J Nat Prod. 2026 Jan 23;89(1):322-328. doi: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.5c01151.
Yinzhong Fan 1,  Fan Xu 1,  Xin Hong 2 3,  Haochuan Wang 4,  Nan Zhang 1 5,  Youqi Ji 2 6,  Yi Han 1,  Jinxiao Zhang 5,  Yumei Ge 2 7 8 9,  Daniel H Scharf 1 5
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China.
  • 2 Department of Clinical Laboratory, Laboratory Medicine Center, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou 314408, China.
  • 3 Department of Green Pharmaceutical Collaborative Innovation Center, School of Pharmacy, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China.
  • 4 Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute (ZJE), Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Haining 314400, China.
  • 5 The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, International School of Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu 322000, China.
  • 6 School of Medical Technology and Information Engineering, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China.
  • 7 Key Laboratory of Biomarkers and In Vitro Diagnosis Translation of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310053, China.
  • 8 Department of Clinical Laboratory, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital Bijie Hospital, Bijie, Guizhou 551700, China.
  • 9 Key Laboratory for Cancer Prevention and Treatment of Guizhou Province, Bijie, Guizhou 551700, China.
PMID: 41485188 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.5c01151
Abstract

Gliotoxin, an epipolythiodioxopiperazine (ETP) toxin, has been reported in several Fungal species, but its distribution remains unclear. We analyzed 140 clinical isolates from two major hospitals using HPLC and LC-MS/MS to assess gliotoxin production. Gliotoxin was detected only in Aspergillus fumigatus isolates, with no production observed in any Other species under multiple culture conditions. Molecular networking and comparative genomics revealed distinct ETP-related pathways in non-A. fumigatus species, including aspirochlorine derivatives in Aspergillus flavus and aranotin-related metabolites in Aspergillus terreus. These findings clarify species-specific ETP profiles and confirm A. fumigatus as the sole gliotoxin producer among the isolates examined.

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