Volatile metabolites and other indicators of Penicillium aurantiogriseum growth on different substrates

Penicillium aurantiogriseum Dierckx was cultivated on six agar substrates (barley meal agar, oat meal agar, wheat meal agar, malt extract agar, Czapek agar, and Norkrans agar) and on oat grain for 5 days in cultivation vessels provided with an inlet and an outlet for air. Volatile metabolites produced by the cultures were collected on a porous polymer adsorbent by passing an airstream through the vessel. Volatile metabolites were collected between days 2 and 5 after inoculation. CO2 production was simultaneously measured, and after the cultivation period ergosterol contents and the numbers of CFU of the cultures were determined. Alcohols of low molecular weight and sesquiterpenes were the dominant compounds found. During growth on oat grain the production of 8-carbon alcohols and 3-methyl-1-butanol was higher and the production of terpenes was lower than during growth on agar substrates. The compositions of the volatile metabolites from oat grain were more similar to those from wheat grain, which was used as a substrate in a previous investigation, than to those produced on any of the agar substrates. Regarding the agar substrates, the production of terpenes was most pronounced on the artificial substrates (Czapek agar and Norkrans agar) whereas alcohol production was highest on substrates based on cereals. The production of volatile metabolites was highly correlated with the production of CO2 and moderately correlated with ergosterol contents, whereas no correlation with the numbers of CFU was found. Thus, the volatile metabolites formed and the ergosterol contents of fungal cultures should be good indicators of present and past fungal activity.