Production of conidia of Penicillium camemberti in liquid medium through microcycles of conidiation

Microcycle conidiation is a survival mechanism of fungi encountering unfavorable conditions. In this phenomenon, asexual spores germinate secondary spores directly without formation of mycelium. As Penicillium camemberti conidia have the ability to produce conidiophores after germination in liquid culture induced by a thermal stress (18 and 30 A degrees C), our work has aimed at producing conidia through this mean. Incubation at 18 and 30 A degrees C increased the swelling of conidia and their proportion thereby producing conidiophores. Our results showed that the microcycle of conidiation can produce 5 x 10(8) conidia ml(-1) after 7 days at 18 A degrees C of culture. The activity of these conidia was checked through culture on a solid medium. Conidia produced by microcycle conidiation formed a normal mycelium on the surface of solid media and 25 % could still germinate after 5 months of storage.