Abstract
The effects of T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, T-2 triol, T-2 tetraol, diacetoxyscirpenol, verrucarol, roridin A, and verrucarin A on the growth of yeast were studied. The influence of these trichothecenes on the growth of the yeasts varied markedly. Kluyveromyces fragilis was most sensitive to verrucarin A. The minimal inhibitory concentration and effective concentrations50 values for verrucarin A were 0.24 and 0.05 nmol/ml, respectively. T-2 triol, T-2 tetraol, and verrucarol did not inhibit growth at the highest concentration tested. These eight trichothecenes inhibited mitochondrial function in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Verrucarin A had the greatest toxicity toward the mitochondria of this yeast. In general, the order of toxicity was verrucarin A > roridin A > T-2 toxin > diacetoxyscirpenol > HT-2 toxin > verrucarol ≥ T-2 triol ≥ T-2 tetraol. These results show that these trichothecenes have different reactivities toward intracellular target(s).