[Detection of toxigenic Fusarium strains, producing T-2 toxin, in wheat grain mycoflora by microbiologic assay].

Twenty-three Fusarium strains were isolated from wheat grain harvested in the Moscow region. The ability of the fungi cultures isolated for producing T-2 toxin was studied by the microbiological assay with the use of Saccharomyces lactis culture (BKMU-459) susceptible to T-2 toxin. The toxigenic properties were shown by 9 cultures. Six strains with unestablished species appurtenance grown on A. Capek's agar in Perti dishes were found to produce T-2 toxin in an amount of 2 to 50 micrograms/ml agar. Three strains grown on sterilized wheat grain and attributed to Fusarium sporotrichiella v. poae according to the morphological characteristics were discovered to produce T-2 toxin in an amount from 50-100 to 400-600 micrograms/g. Production of T-2 toxin by the strains isolated was confirmed by thin-layer chromatography. Experiments made on young rats have demonstrated that extracts from F. sporotrichiella v. poae strains producing T-2 toxin appeared highly toxic for the animals.