Thefusariummycotoxin Deoxynivalenol and Yeast Growth and Fermentation

At a concentration of 50 μg ml−1 medium, the trichothecene mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) caused reductions of up to 15% in cell number, dry mass and total protein during growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for 24 h at 25°C, but had little effect on viability of cultures. During fermentation of glucose-amended Wickerham medium at 16°C, the presence of 20 μg DON ml−1 had no effect on the rate of attenuation of glucose or production of ethanol, but lower concentrations of the related mycotoxin diacetoxscirpenol (DAS) strongly affected growth and also caused an initial lag during fermentation.