The Effect of Fungal Toxins on the Germination of Mitospores from Thermophilic Fungi

Fungi in several genera produce toxins that vary in toxicity to humans and animals. The most prominent fungal toxins are those that are used as antibiotics in human and veterinary medicine, and their effect on pathogenic microbes is well known. The lesser known fungal toxins include those produced by Penicillium species (citreoviridin, penicillic acid, gliotoxin, patulin), Aspergillus species (aflatoxin, citrinin, gliotoxin, helvolic acid, ochratoxin, patulin), Trichoderma species (gliotoxin), Stemphilium (radicinin), Gibberella and Fusarium (zearalanone). Some toxigenic fungi (A. fumigatusA. flavusA. parasiticus) grow on stored vegetation and compost contributing to their decay while releasing toxin. Since both mesophilic and thermophilic fungi grow on these substrates their spores would be exposed to fungal toxins and spore germination could be affected. A few studies have been done on the effects of fungal toxins on the germination of spores from mesophilic fungi (Brian and Hemming, 1945; Reiss, 1973; Deshmukh and Agrawal, 1984), and only one report (Thakre and Johri, 1973) was found dealing with the effects of fungal toxins on the germination of spores from thermophilic fungi. Furthermore, several studies have been done concerning the effects of fungal toxins on the germination of tracheophyte spores, pollen, and seeds (Reynolds et al., 1978; Jones et al., 1980; Dashek et al., 1981a; Dashek et al., 1981b; Dashek et al., 1982; Llewellyn et al., 1982; Llewellyn et al., 1985) to determine the effects of toxins on the germination of these structures or to use their germination in toxin solutions as a bioassay for toxin.