Mycotoxins, toxic metabolites of molds elaborated during their colonization of foods and feeds, pose a threat to human and animal life. Molds are the diverse group of fungi, which grow in compatatively dry and warm environments, produce copious amount of spores and promote the elaboration of these mycotoxins. Mycotoxigenic fungi, which are unique their sporulating apparatus and exhibit wide variation in their morphology, poses a challenge in their identification. There are numerous examples of their misidentification leading to wrong conclusions.

Contents: 1. Introduction. 2. Isolation and detection of mycotoxigenic fungi. 3.Description of Various Mycotoxigenic Fungi. 4. Molecular Detection of Mycotoxigenic Fungi and Mycotoxins. 5. Pleomorphism in Mycotoxigenic Fungi. 6. Ecology of Mycotoxigenic Fungi. References.