VOLATILE ORGANIC METABOLITES ASSOCIATED WITH SOME TOXIC FUNGI AND THEIR MYCOTOXINS

A toxigenic strain of Fusarium sporotrichioides Sherbakoff was cultiva ted on straw, wheat and oat grains at a relative humidity of air (RH) of 84-100% for 17 days, Likewise, toxigenic and non-toxigenic strains of Penicillium verrucosum Dierckx were cultured on oat grain, aspen wo od and wallpaper at RH 78-98% for 26 days, During the incubation, air samples mere collected from the incubation chambers into Tenax TA adso rbent tubes every second day, and 12 microbial volatile organic compou nds (MVOC) were identified from the air samples by thermal desorption- gas chromatograhpy, The main MVOC included oct-1-en-3-ol, 3-methylbuta n-2-ol, octan-1-ol, octan-3-ol, octan-3-one, hexan-2-one, heptan-2-one , alpha-pinene, and limonene, Especially ketones mere formed in the gr ain cultures, possibly because of the high lipid content of grain, A r elationship between the synthesis of mycotoxins and the relative propo rtion of different MVOC groups was detected, probably resulting from s imilar metabolic pathways, The production of volatile terpenes seemed to be linked to the formation of trichothecenes in the F. sporotrichio ides cultures, and the P. verrucosum strain that is capable of synthes izing ochratoxin showed an accelerated production of volatile ketones compared with the ketone production of the non-toxigenic strain.