Methods to preserve potentially toxigenic fungi

Abstract

Microorganisms are a source of many high-value compounds which are useful to every living being, such as humans, plants and animals. Since the process of isolating and improving a microorganism can be lengthy and expensive, preserving the obtained characteristic is of paramount importance, so the process does not need to be repeated. Fungi are eukaryotic, achlorophyllous, heterotrophic organisms, usually filamentous, absorb their food, can be either macro or microscopic, propagate themselves by means of spores and store glycogen as a source of storage. Fungi, while infesting food, may produce toxic substances such as mycotoxins. The great genetic diversity of the Kingdom Fungi renders the preservation of fungal cultures for many years relevant. Several international reference mycological culture collections are maintained in many countries. The methodologies that are most fit for preserving microorganisms for extended periods are based on lowering the metabolism until it reaches a stage of artificial dormancy. The goal of this study was to analyze three methods for potentially toxigenic fungal conservation (Castellani's, continuous subculture and lyophilization) and to identify the best among them. © 2014, Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia.