A SIMPLE DESCRIPTIVE MODEL OF FILAMENTOUS FUNGI SPORE GERMINATION

A simple statistical model is presented to describe the germination kinetics of filamentous fungal spore populations grown either in soluble or on solid substrates. The model attempts to reduce large amounts of data to three parameters of relevant physiological significance: one related to the maximum proportion of germination in a spore population, another related to the kinetics of the process, and another - the synchronization factor - that measures the extent of synchronization in the population of germinating spores. The latter is a very important parameter, which is introduced for the first time in a model of spore germination, and which, together with the other two, would be considered in relation to filamentous fungal fermentations in physiological and technological studies. These parameters were estimated by the Maximum Likelihood method. The fit of our experimental data, together with associated data reported in the literature indicated the validity of the model for the description of the time course of germination for a large variety of strains grown under different physical and chemical environmental conditions.