Zearalenone, a mycotoxin produced by fungi of the genus Fusarium, widely exists in animal feed and human food. The structure of zearalenone is similar to estrogen, so it mainly has estrogenic effects on various organisms. Products contaminated with zearalenone can pose risks to animals and humans. Therefore, it is imperative to carry out toxicological research on zearalenone and evaluate its risk to human health. This paper briefly introduces the production, physical, and chemical properties of zearalenone and the research progress of its toxicity kinetics, focusing on its genetic toxicity, reproductive toxicity, hepatotoxicity, immunotoxicity, carcinogenicity, endocrine interference, and its impact on intestinal health. Finally, the progress of the risk assessment of human exposure is summarized to provide a reference for the follow-up study of zearalenone.

Drought stress remains one of the most detrimental environmental cues affecting plant growth and survival. In this work, the DNA methylome changes in mulberry leaves under drought stress (EG) and control (CK) and their impact on gene regulation were investigated by MethylRAD sequencing. The results show 138,464 (37.37%) and 56,241 (28.81%) methylation at the CG and CWG sites (W = A or T), respectively, in the mulberry genome between drought stress and control. The distribution of the methylome was prevalent in the intergenic, exonic, intronic and downstream regions of the mulberry plant genome. In addition, we discovered 170 DMGs (129 in CG sites and 41 in CWG sites) and 581 DMS (413 in CG sites and 168 in CWG sites). Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis indicates that phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, spliceosome, amino acid biosynthesis, carbon metabolism, RNA transport, plant hormone, signal transduction pathways, and quorum sensing play a crucial role in mulberry response to drought stress. Furthermore, the qRT-PCR analysis indicates that the selected 23 genes enriched in the KEGG pathways are differentially expressed, and 86.96% of the genes share downregulated methylation and 13.04% share upregulation methylation status, indicating the complex link between DNA methylation and gene regulation. This study serves as fundamentals in discovering the epigenomic status and the pathways that will significantly enhance mulberry breeding for adaptation to a wide range of environments.

The viscera of Urechis unicinctus with polypeptides, fatty acids, and amino acids are usually discarded during processing to food. In order to improve the utilization value of the viscera of Urechis unicinctus and avoid resource waste, antioxidant polypeptides were isolated from the viscera of Urechis unicinctus. First, a protein hydrolysate of Urechis unicinctus (UUPH) was prepared by ultrasonic-assisted enzymatic hydrolysis, and the degree of hydrolysis was as high as 79.32%. Subsequently, three new antioxidant peptides (P1, P2, and P3) were purified from UUPH using ultrafiltration and chromatography, and their amino acid sequences were identified as VTSALVGPR, IGLGDEGLRR, TKIRNEISDLNER, respectively. Then, the antioxidant activity of the polypeptide was predicted by the structure–activity relationship and finally verified by experiments on eukaryotic cells. The P1 peptide exhibited the strongest antioxidant activity among these three antioxidant peptides. Furthermore, P1, P2, and P3 have no toxic effect on RAW264.7 cells at the concentration of 0.01~2 mg/mL and can protect RAW264.7 cells from H₂O₂-induced oxidative damage in a concentration-dependent manner. These results suggested that these three new antioxidant peptides were isolated from the viscera of Urechis unicinctus, especially the P1 peptide, which might serve as potential antioxidants applied in health-derived food or beverages. This study further developed a new use of the by-product of Urechis unicinctus, which improved the comprehensive utilization of marine biological resources.