[Effect of sterigmatocystin on the toxinogenesis of the Aspergillus flavus group].

The aflatoxinogenesis of Aspergillus parasiticus is significantly enhanced by the presence, in the medium, of sterigmatocystin at a high level (35--50 microgram/ml); low concentrations, in the order of 175 microgram/ml, have no effect on the production of aflatoxins. During the period where the aflatoxinogenesis of the culture is high, no variation of the sterigmatocystin level is noted, Experiments with 14C-sterigmatocystin indicate that the mold does not utilize the metabolite itself as a precursor of aflatoxins.