Production of Bikaverin by Fusarium Oxysporum and Its Identity With Lycopersin

In a study of fungi in pastures associated with ovine ill-thrift^Fusarium oxysporum has frequently been encountered.This species of fungus is notable for the characteristic purple pigmentation of surface myceliumon malt agar, but was found to produce pigment irregularly in shaken cultures in a variety of media.From each of 6 producing strains the same deep red pigment giving insoluble purple salts was isolated.It resembled in most properties the red pigment lycopersin isolated in 1949 by Kreitman and colleagues2j3) from cultures of F. lycopersici and F. vasinfectum, two species included by Snyder and Hansen4>5) within the species F. oxysporumSchlecht.Direct comparison of our pigment with an authentic specimenof lycopersin established that they were,