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Biological Toxins and Bioterrorism pp 295–319Cite as

Mycotoxins Relevant to Biowarfare and Their Detection

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Part of the book series: Toxinology ((TOXI))

Abstract

A toxin is any toxic substance that can be produced by an animal, plant, or microbe. Some toxins can also be produced by molecular biological techniques (protein toxins) or by chemical synthesis (low-molecular-weight toxins). The threat of biological warfare is an increasing concern in recent years. Advances in microbiology and genetic engineering have made it possible to create extremely dangerous toxigenic and pathogenic microorganisms. Accurately detecting and identifying biological warfare agents (BWAs) is the focal point for countering bioterrorism, methods for detection of these agents and treatments for infection are currently limited, and the development of highly rapid and sensitive field-deployable methods for early detection of biological warfare agents is crucial. There has been a remarkable progress in the detection, protection, and decontamination of biological warfare agents as many instrumentation platforms and detection methodologies are developed and commissioned. Furthermore in the past decade, there have been threats due to the emerging new diseases and also the reemergence of old diseases and development of antimicrobial resistance and spread to new geographic regions. The preparedness against these agents needs complete knowledge about the disease, better research and training facilities and diagnostic facilities, and improved public health system. Even then, the threat of biological warfare agents and their use in bioterrorist attacks still remain a leading cause of global concern. This review on the major fungal biological warfare agents will provide information on the biological warfare agents and their detection.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. DRDO-BU- Centre for Life Sciences, Bharathiar University Campus, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India

      M. Venkataramana

    2. Department of Biotechnology, University of Mysore, Mysore, Karnataka, India

      S. Chandranayaka, H. S. Prakash & S. R. Niranjana

    Authors
    1. M. Venkataramana
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    2. S. Chandranayaka
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    3. H. S. Prakash
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    4. S. R. Niranjana
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    Corresponding author

    Correspondence to S. Chandranayaka .

    Editor information

    Editors and Affiliations

    1. Venom and Toxin Research Programme, Department of Anatomy, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

      P. Gopalakrishnakone

    2. Medical Toxicology Research Centre Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

      Mahdi Balali-Mood

    3. Data and Technology Innovation, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, QLD, Australia

      Lyndon Llewellyn

    4. Botulinum Research Center, Institute of Advanced Sciences, Dartmouth, MA, USA

      Bal Ram Singh

    5. Prime Bio, Inc., Dartmouth, MA, USA

      Bal Ram Singh

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    Venkataramana, M., Chandranayaka, S., Prakash, H.S., Niranjana, S.R. (2015). Mycotoxins Relevant to Biowarfare and Their Detection. In: Gopalakrishnakone, P., Balali-Mood, M., Llewellyn, L., Singh, B.R. (eds) Biological Toxins and Bioterrorism. Toxinology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5869-8_32

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