Comparative study of the yield of T-2 toxic produced by Fusarium poae, F. sporotrichioides and F. sporotrichioides var. tricinctum strains from different sources.

Eleven strains of Fusarium poae and F. sporotrichioides from the U.S.S.R. and 7 strains of these species and one of F. sporotrichioides var. tricinctum from U.S.A. and France have been compared as to their capacity to yield T-2 toxin. The presence of this toxin was confirmed by thin layer chromatography, gas liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy. The strains which came from the U.S.S.R. and were originally involved in causing Alimentary Toxic Aleukia (ATA), produced several times more T-2 toxin than the others. We assume that the ability of the U.S.S.R. strains to produce much more T-toxin is due to the different ecological conditions under which they were first isolated. The remarkable maintenance of so high a level of toxin production over more than 30 years of culturing is worthy of note.