Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a potent mycotoxin that impairs reproductive health, yet its impact on oocyte metabolism remains unclear. Our study aimed to characterize the metabolic profile of mouse oocytes exposed to AFB1.Using a murine model of chronic AFB1 exposure, we performed integrated metabolomic and proteomic analyses of oocytes. AFB1 exposure induced profound metabolic reprogramming, characterized by excessive activation of fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO) and one-carbon metabolism, and suppressed nucleotide metabolism. Functional assays further demonstrated that exogenous taurine supplementation improved quality of AFB1-exposed oocytes, specifically, alleviating meiotic defects and metabolic dysfunction. Collectively, these findings provide novel mechanistic insight into AFB1-induced metabolic perturbations in oocytes and highlight taurine as a promising intervention to mitigate mycotoxin-associated reproductive toxicity.
Xiong et al. (2026) studied this question.