A non-linear model for temperature-dependent sporulation and T-2 and HT-2 production of Fusarium langsethiae and F. sporotrichioides

This research has produced new quantitative data on the sporulation and T-2+HT-2 toxin\r\nproduction that could be further integrated to develop a comprehensive disease or toxin\r\nprediction model for F. langsethiae and F. sporotrichioides. Experiments were conducted to\r\ndetermine the effect of temperature or incubation time on sporulation and the effect of\r\ntemperature on T-2+HT-2 toxin production of strains of the two species. F. sporotrichioides\r\ndemonstrated a preference for higher temperatures than F. langsethiae during sporulation;\r\nthe optimum temperature was 24.5 ± 0.7 °C for F. langsethiae and 32.3 ± 2.1 °C for F.\r\nsporotrichioides, according to the Beta equation fitted to the data. The dynamics of\r\nsporulation over different incubation times were fitted by a Gompertz function. The\r\nmaximum spore production was estimated to be after 18 and 8 days incubation at optimum\r\ntemperatures for F. langsethiae and F. sporotrichioides, respectively. F. sporotrichioides\r\nproduced more T-2+HT-2 than F. langsethiae. The best fit of the effect of temperature on T-\r\n2+HT-2 production in wheat grains was obtained with a Beta equation showing an optimum\r\ntemperature of 14.7 ± 0.8 °C for F. langsethiae and 12.1 ± 0.2 °C for F. sporotrichioides. The\r\noptimum temperature for mycotoxin production was lower than for sporulation.