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Post-Harvest Pathology and Mycotoxins

Toxigenic Fungi from Cotton. U. L. Diener, Professor, Department of Botany and Microbiology, Auburn University Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn 36830; R. E. Wagener(2), G. Morgan-Jones(3), and N. D. Davis(4). (2)(3)(4)Graduate Assistant, Associate Professor, and Professor, Department of Botany and Microbiology, Auburn University Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn 36830, (2)Present address: Research Division, Miller Brewing Co., 4000 W. State St., Milwaukee, WI 53208. Phytopathology 66:514-516. Accepted for publication 27 October 1975. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-66-514.

Forty-seven cultures of fungi (representing 14 genera and 25 species) isolated from cotton by investigators in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi were bioassayed for toxicity to brine shrimp, chick embryos, and rats. Eleven isolates (seven species) were highly toxic to brine shrimp. Twenty-three isolates (16 species) were highly toxic and five (three species) were moderately toxic to chick embryos. Thirty-three isolates (21 species) were bioassayed for toxicity to rats. Extracts of Fusarium oxysporum and two species of Alternaria caused mortality in some rats, and extracts from seven other fungal isolates caused reduced weight gain by at least 10%. Gross pathological changes observed in treated rats included hemorrhages, kidney abnormalities, and shedding of hair. This research has shown the potential of these fungi to produce toxic substances, but whether they occur naturally in cottonseed remains to be determined.