Relationship between spore germination kinetics and lag time during growth of Mucor racemosus

Aims: Spore germination requires microscopic observation whereas fungal growth results in a macroscopic examination. This paper aims at establishing a relationship between the percentage of germinated spores and parameters easily available from visible development. Methods and Results: About 225 spores of Mucor racemosus were inoculated on PDA medium and incubated at 15° and 25°C. Germination kinetics were modelled by a logistic function. Fungal development provided two parameters, a growth rate, µ, and a lag period, λ, defined as the slope of the straight line of the graph radius (mm) vs time (h) and the intercept of this line with the X-axis, respectively. Conclusions: It was found that the lag period coincided with the completion of the germination process, although the number of spores inoculated should be controlled carefully. Significance and Impact of the Study: Providing that this result can be generalized, this procedure would constitute a significant breakthrough for predicting food spoilage by moulds.