The effects of carbon and nitrogen nutrients on the biosynthesis of toxic metabolites by two strains of Fusarium graminearum were studied. The yields of deoxynivalenol, 3- and 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol, and zearalenone, as well as several other secondary metabolites, varied according to carbon source supplied. The responses of the two strains were not the same with different carbon sources resulting in the highest yield of a given metabolite. Ratios of the various secondary metabolites also varied according to carbon source. Nitrogen sources were tested in defined and semidefined media and the results indicated that amino acid nitrogen as well as some unknown growth factor(s) in yeast extract were required for optimum yield of deoxynivalenol and related compounds. The results illustrate the problem of defining species of Fusarium according to their toxic metabolites.
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Miller et al. (1985) studied this question.