Effects of Climate Change on Occurrence of Aflatoxin and Its Impacts on Maize in India

Abstract

Climate change is a key factor for emerging food and feed safety issues all over the world. Aflatoxins are potent mycotoxins that cause developmental and immune system suppression, cancer, and death. The expected impact on the occurrence of mycotoxins in food and feed is of great concern. Among mycotoxins, aflatoxins have acute and chronic toxicity that cause suppression of immune system and even cancer. Hence, its concentration in agricultural food, feed and their commodities is regulated worldwide. Fungi Aspergillus is responsible for aflatoxin contamination in maize grains. Maize grain contaminated with aflatoxin is responsible for significant economic loss for producers, marketers, and stakeholders. The possible change in patterns of aflatoxin occurrence in crops due to climate change is a matter of concern that may require anticipatory actions. Aflatoxin contamination influenced by climate, by direct influencing population of A. flavus on maize that includes changes in the quantity of aflatoxin-producers in the environment and alterations to fungal community structure. Fluctuations in climate also influence predisposition of hosts to contamination by altering crop development and by affecting insects that create wounds on which aflatoxin-producers proliferate. Aflatoxin contamination is prevalent both in warm humid climates and in irrigated hot climatic condition. Generally, if the temperature increases in cool or temperate regions, the respective areas may become more susceptible to fungi Aspergillus as a result aflatoxins contamination increases. However, tropical countries may become unfavourable for growth of aflatoxin producing fungi. The objective of this paper is to review the potential impact of climate change on aflatoxin that contaminate maize in India, and to highlight key research questions and approaches for understanding this impact.