Biological Activity of Volatile Fungal Metabolites

Abstract

A RECENT survey has measured the effects of volatile metabolites from sixty-two fungal cultures on chosen characters of growth and reproduction of five assay species, namely: Rhizopus sexualis (Smith) Callen, Chaetomium globosum Kunze ex Fr., Stereum hirsutum (Willd.) Fr., Aspergillus niger van Tiegh., and Botrytis cinerea Pers. ex Fr. The sixty-two species tested consisted of thirteen Phycomycetes, thirteen Ascomycetes, six Basidiomycetes and thirty Fungi Imperfecti, representing a wide range of habit. These species were tested using the simple apparatus shown in Fig. 1; each test consisted of a comparison of three replicate cultures, each containing the assay fungus on the upper agar plate and the test fungus on the lower plate, with three replicate controls each containing the assay fungus on the top plate and sterile agar on the lower plate.