Abstract
Zearalenone is an estrogenic mycotoxin, and known to be produced by several Fusarium species. Among them, F. graminearum, F. culmorum, and F. crookwellense are major zearalenone producers in Japan and responsible for the contamination of wheat and barley with zearalenone. However, the intracellular activity of zearalenone in fungi is still unclear due to the limited number of studies. As a natural endocrine disrupting metabolite, zearalenone will be required to clarify its physiological effects in human in more details.
