Influence of temperature, water activity and incubation time on fungal growth and production of ochratoxin A and zearalenone by toxigenic Aspergillus tubingensis and Fusarium incarnatum isolates in sorghum seeds.

The major objective of this study was to describe the effect of water activity and temperature on radial growth and production of ochratoxin A (OTA) and zearalenone (ZEA) on sorghum grains of three Aspergillus tubingensis and three Fusarium incarnatum isolates. The water activity range was 0.91-0.

Circadian rhythms have significant effects on leaf-to-canopy scale gas exchange under field conditions.

Background: Molecular clocks drive oscillations in leaf photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, and other cell and leaf-level processes over ~24 h under controlled laboratory conditions. The influence of such circadian regulation over whole-canopy fluxes remains uncertain; diurnal CO and HO vapor flux dynamics in the field are currently interpreted as resulting almost exclusively from direct physiological responses to variations in light, temperature and other environmental factors. We tested whether circadian regulation would affect plant and canopy gas exchange at the Montpellier European Ecotron.

Effects of temperature, water activity and incubation time on fungal growth and aflatoxin B1 production by toxinogenic Aspergillus flavus isolates on sorghum seeds.

Sorghum, which is consumed in Tunisia as human food, suffers from severe colonization by several toxigenic fungi and contamination by mycotoxins. The Tunisian climate is characterized by high temperature and humidity that stimulates mold proliferation and mycotoxin accumulation in foodstuffs. This study investigated the effects of temperature (15, 25 and 37°C), water activity (aw, between 0.