Synthesis of aflatoxins by the non-growing mycelia of Aspergillus parasiticus and the effect of inhibitors.

A chemically defined medium giving high yields of aflatoxins has been reported from this laboratory (Reddy, Viswanathan & Venkitasubramanian, 1971). Many workers have studied the incorporation of [ 1J4C]acetate into aflatoxins (Adye & Mateles, I 964; Donkersloot, Hsieh & Mateles, 1968; Detroy & Hesseltine, 1969; Hsieh & Mateles, 1970, 1971). Labelled acetate is efficiently incorporated into aflatoxins when added directly to cultures of Aspergillus parasiticus. When studying the effects of different factors on aflatoxin production with such a system, it is always possible that the results will be influenced by the growth of the mycelium. Therefore, attempts were made to develop a system capable of synthesizing aflatoxins under completely resting conditions, and this system was used to study the effect of different inhibitors on aflatoxin production.