TOXIGENIC POTENTIAL OF FUSARIUM-COMPACTUM R8287 AND R8293

Secondary metabolite production by two strains of Fusarium compactum, R8287 and R8293, previously implicated in Sandhill crane intoxication, was investigated. Fermentations were carried out both in liquid cultures and on rice. Under the conditions used, strain R8293 did not produce any trichothecenes. After 2 days of fermentation in inoculum medium, small amounts of enniatins B and B1 were detected by GC/MS in the ethyl acetate extract. This is the first report of the production of enniatins by this species. Liquid cultures of strain R8287 produced 8-acetylneosolaniol as the major metabolite by 9 days. After 3 days of fermentation, enniatin B but not B1 was also detected but was later metabolized. When grown on rice for 29 days/27-degrees-C, this strain gave small amounts of neosolaniol and large amounts of 8,15-isoneosolaniol, also known as acuminatin. The 8,15-isoneosolaniol was characterized by comparison of its H-1 and C-13 NMR spectra with those of a synthetic sample. It had been previously incorrectly identified as 4,8-isoneosolaniol.