Growth of Eurotium halophilicum Isolated from Spoiled Strawberry Jam Imported from Australia

Abstract

A fungal strain (NCI 3170) isolated from spoiled strawberry jam imported from Australia was morphologically identified as Eurotium halophilicum. This fungus grew well and produced lots of ascomata, and was white to pale yellow on M50YG agar and PDA with 15% NaCl. The anamorph of this fungus was not produced on 16 media for isolation and enumeration of common and xerophilic fungi.
As results of the thermal death time tube method for heat resistance, most ascospores of this fungus, which were suspended in phosphate buffer saline (pH 7.4), survived at 60°C for 3hr, at 65°C for 20min, at 70°C for 2 min, and survivors were 4.5% at 65°C for 30 min, 2.4% at 70°C for 10 min, and 1.1% at 80°C for 2 min, respectively.
Eurotium halophilicum NCI 3170 and two Japanese isolates from processed food were morphologically compared.