Mycoviruses of Penicillium stoloniferum: influence of carbon-nitrogen nutrition upon replication.

Carbon-nitrogen ratio experiments indicate that limiting nutrition not only hinders Penicillium stoloniferum host proliferation but reduces total PsV-F and PsV-S virus replication. Results of C-N experiments show a pH-induced autolysis and virus release at minimal C levels. Maximal PsV-F levels and biomass were obtained with glucose and sucrose as C sources. Oleic acid also yielded high biomass and PsV-F yields. Yeast extract was an excellent N source; 2.83 g dry weight biomass and 87 A260 units PsV-F after 96 h of growth. Other nitrogen sources, including amino acids, supported only minimal growth and virus replication. The autolysis phenomenon is pH, not viral-induced. High C and N will support maximal growth and unrestricted virus replication with no cellular lysis. Under low C growth conditions, the replication of PsV-S is favored coupled with high pH and autolysis.