Aberrant Growth and Conidiation in Wild-Type Cultures of Fusarium Species from Wheat

Fusarium avenaceum, F. graminearum, F. poae and F. tricinctum showed abnormal growth, morphology and conidiation, and a tendency to produce crystals, inclusion bodies and sclerotia when freshly isolated from wheat stem bases or kernels onto low-carbon potato dextrose agar (PDA). Observations of alterations in conidiation and conidium morphology are particularly significant, as these are the principal morphological diagnostic characteristics for Fusarium species. The fungi had normal growth when sub-cultured onto standard PDA, suggesting that a balance of nutrients was responsible for the effects. Specific causes are discussed in detail in relation to published information. The importance of standard media in the identification of Fusarium species is emphasized, whilst non-standard media may be useful for specific purposes, including routine isolation of fungi from mixed communities of species with different nutrient requirements.