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Growth of Fusarium moniliforme and its biosynthesis of fumonisin B1 on maize grain as a function of different water activities
Author(s) -
Cahagnier B.,
Melcion D.,
RichardMolard D.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1111/j.1472-765x.1995.tb00439.x
Subject(s) - fumonisin , fumonisin b1 , library science , fusarium , biology , botany , computer science
The production of fumonisin by Fusarium moniliforme during its growth on maize depends on extrinsic factors. In particular, experiments on maize grain at different water activities ( a w )(1, 0.95, 0.90, 0.85) have demonstrated the influence of a w on fumonisin biosynthesis, and on fungal growth defined by measurement of ergosterol levels. Fumonisin levels dropped threefold when a w was lowered by 5%, but growth rate was unchanged. A 10% reduction in a w from 1 to 0.90 resulted in a 20‐fold drop in fungal growth, and fumonisin production was reduced 300‐fold. At a threshold a w of 0.85–0.86, F. moniliforme exhibited virtually no measurable metabolic activity, and hence no fumonisin production.