IIR 2 721 0063 91/IRAQI-JAPANESE COOPERATION ON MYCOTOXIN

File: 950727_27210063_91a.txt
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IIR 2 721 0063 91/IRAQI-JAPANESE COOPERATION ON MYCOTOXIN

Filename:27210063.91a
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SERIAL: (U) IIR 2 721 0063 91

BODY
PASS: (U) DIA FOR 2 ITF/JIC/OICC; DA FOR DAMI-FII-E;
DIRAFMIC/AFMIC-CR/ST-I FOR [   (b)(6)   ]

COUNTRY: (U) IRAQ (IZ); JAPAN (JA).

SUBJ: IIR 2 721 0063 91/IRAQI-JAPANESE COOPERATION ON MYCOTOXIN
RESEARCH "DESERT STORM" (U)

WARNING: (U) THIS IS AN INFORMATION REPORT, NOT FINALLY EVALUATED
INTELLIGENCE.  REPORT CLASSIFIED 

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                        DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
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DOI: (U) 841200.
REQS: (U) T-8C2-2650-01-90.

SOURCE: [   (b)(1) sec 1.3(a)(4)   ][   (b)(7)(D)   ]




SUMMARY:            THIS REPORT PROVIDES INFORMATION ON A STUDY OF
IRAQI SOIL SAMPLES PERFORMED BY JAPANESE SCIENTISTS JOINTLY WITH 
AN
IRAQI SCIENTIST FROM BASRA UNIVERSITY, BASRA, IRAQ, AT A JAPANESE
UNIVERSITY LAB IN 1984.  INFORMATION ON MYCOTOXINS PRODUCED BY THE
FUNGI ISOLATED FROM THESE SOIL SAMPLES IS INCLUDED.  ENCLOSURES.

TEXT: 1.     IN MID-1984 AN ASSOCIATE-PROFESSOR, S.K. 
((ABDULLAH)),
FROM BASRA UNIVERSITY, BASRA, IRAQ, BROUGHT 20 SOIL SAMPLES FROM 
AN
UNSPECIFIED DATE PLANTATION IN IRAQ TO A JAPANESE UNIVERSITY FOR A
JOINT STUDY.  PROFESSOR ABDULLAH STAYED IN JAPAN FOR APPROXIMATELY
THREE MONTHS STUDYING THESE SOIL SAMPLES IN COOPERATION WITH
SEVERAL NOTED JAPANESE SCIENTISTS.
2.     FIFTY-SIX MOLDS WERE ISOLATED FROM THE TWENTY SOIL SAMPLES.
THE FUNGAL SPECIES IDENTIFIED WERE --
- ASPERGILLUS FLAVUS.
- ASPERGILLUS CAESPITOSUS.
- ASPERGILLUS FUMIGATUS.
- EMERICELLA NIDULANS.
- EMERICELLA VARIECOLOR.
- EMERICELLA ACRISTATA.
- CHAETOMIUM SPP.
- ASCOMYCETES.
- DEUTEROMYCETES.
MANY OF THE MOLDS WERE FOUND TO BE TOXIGENIC.  THIN-LAYER
CHROMATOGRAPHY ANALYSIS WAS USED TO CONFIRM THE PRODUCTIVITY OF 
THE
FOLLOWING --
- AFLATOXIN.
- STERIGMATOCYSTIN.
- ASTELTOXIN.
- VERRUCULOGEN.
- FUMITREMORGIN.
A NEW TOXIC METABOLITE, TENTATIVELY DESIGNATED AS EQ-1, WAS
ISOLATED FROM AN EMERICELLA QUADRILINEATA STRAIN.
3.     THE TOXIC EFFECTS OF THESE MYCOTOXINS WERE STUDIED AND THE
FOLLOWING INDICATIONS WERE NOTED.  ASTELTOXIN ATTACKED THE CENTRAL
NERVOUS SYTEMS AND SPECIFICALLY INHIBITED RESPIRATION.
VERRUCULOGEN AND FUMITREMORGIN B ALSO ATTACKED THE CENTRAL NERVOUS
SYSTEM CAUSING STRONG TREMORGENIC EFFECTS.  THE LD50 OF
FUMITREMORGIN A IS 0.185 MG/KG IN MICE, BY INJECTION.
4. (U) FINDINGS OF THE JOINT STUDY ARE CONTAINED IN THE DOCUMENT 
AT
ENCLOSURE 1 (TO FOLLOW).
5.     DR. S.K. ABDULLAH WAS AN ASSOCIATE-PROFESSOR FROM BASRA
UNIVERSITY, BASRA, IRAQ.  HE WAS APPROXIMATELY 35 YEARS OLD AT THE
TIME OF HIS VISIT TO JAPAN.  HE WAS A TOXICOLOGIST AND HE
SPECIALIZED IN THE STUDY OF AQUATIC FUNGI, ALTHOUGH HE ASSISTED IN
THIS JOINT STUDY OF SOIL FUNGI.

COMMENTS: 1.     (FIELD COMMENT) - SINCE THE COMPLETION OF THIS
STUDY, THERE HAS BEEN NO FURTHER CONTACT BETWEEN THE SCIENTISTS, 
OR
THE UNIVERSITY, AND DR. ABDULLAH FROM IRAQ.
2.     (SOURCE COMMENT) - IT IS BELIEVED THAT FUMITREMORGIN COULD
ARISE BY THE CONDENSATION OF TRYPTOPHAN AND PROLINE SINCE BOTH OF
THESE AMINO ACIDS ARE EVIDENT IN ITS CHEMICAL CONSTRUCTION.  SOME
EVIDENCE TO THIS EFFECT HAS BEEN OBTAINED BY FEEDING VARIETIES OF
L-TRYPTOPHAN AND L-PROLINE TO CULTURES OF ASPERGILLUS FUMIGATUS.
MEVALONIC ACID IS ALSO INCORPORATED INTO FUMITREMORGIN A IN 
SIMILAR
EXPERIMENTS.
3.     (SOURCE COMMENT) - AT THE TIME OF THIS STUDY, BASRA
UNIVERSITY DID NOT POSSESS THE TECHNOLOGY, EQUIPMENT, OR EXPERTISE
TO PERFORM THIS STUDY IN SUFFICIENT DETAIL OR WITH SUFFICIENT
RELIABILITY.
4.     (FIELD COMMENT) - THESE MYCOTOXINS NATURALLY OCCUR IN IRAQI
SOIL AND MAY BE INCLUDED IN THE IRAQI BIOLOGICAL WARFARE PROGRAM.

//IPSP: (U) PGW 2650//.
//COMSOBJ: (U) 211//.
ADMIN
PROJ: (U) 264301.
COLL: (U) WS.
INSTR: (U) US NO.
PREP: (U) (2-40021) 500TH MI BDE.
ENCL: (U) TO FOLLOW - 2 ENCLOSURES.
1. DOCUMENT - "PRODUCTIVITY OF SOME MYCOTOXINS IN FUNGI ISOLATED
FROM IRAQI SOIL", (U) 1 COPY, 841200, 4 PAGES (U), IN JAPANESE AND
SUMMARY IN ENGLISH.
2. DOCUMENT - TRANSLATION OF ENCLOSURE 1, (U) 1 COPY, UNDATED, 3
PAGES (U).
ACQ: (U) JAPAN (910124).
DISSEM: (U) FIELD: NONE.
SENT TO: DIA RTS-2B (W/ENCLS).
WARNING: (U) REPORT CLASSIFIED