Study of the conditions of conidiation for the bio-fungicide Pseudozyma flocculosa

Pseudozyma flocculosa is a useful fungus and is used in biological control of mildew.
The reproduction of this fungus seems to be exclusively asexual by conidia’s production. The latter physiological form seems to be resistant to downstream process and storage conditions. Therefore, it represents the most commonly form used in agriculture as Fungicide. However, production of conidia in submerged culture is usually uncertain, often with very low yield.
Despite the advantages that P. flocculosa offers in biological control, its use remains largely limited compared with that of chemical fungicides. This is probably due to the difficulty to produce mature conidia with high yields. In this work, our aim is to decipher developmental phases of conidia by this useful strain. We start by conidia production in submerged and semisolid fermentation. We then focus on comparative study of different kinds of obtained conidia.