Pathogenicity and Lipid Composition of Mycelium of the Fungus Stagonospora cirsii VIZR 1.41 Produced on Liquid Media with Different Nitrogen Sources

The effect of the nitrogen source (sodium nitrate and soybean meal) on the growth, pathogenicity, and lipid composition of mycelium of Stagonospora cirsii Davis VIZR 1.41, a potential mycoherbicide against Canada thistle (Cirsium arvens (L.) Scop.), was studied. The fungus grew significantly (two times) faster on sucrose-soybean meal medium (SSM) than on modified Czapek medium (CM). The fungal mycelium during the exponential growth phase demonstrated the maximal pathogenicity level on the third day on SSM and on the sixth day on CM. Canada thistle leaf tissues were more susceptible (25% higher development of necrotic lesion) to mycelium obtained on SSM than to mycelium obtained on CM. The nitrogen source strongly affected the lipid composition of S. cirsii mycelium. In S. cirsii mycelium obtained on SSM, the total lipid content was 1.7 times lower; the ratio of nonpolar lipids to polar lipids was three times lower than that for fungal mycelium grown on CM. Considerable differences were found in the composition of nonpolar (sterols and fatty acid) and polar (sphingolipids) lipids with respect to the nitrogen source in the culture medium. The higher contents of sterols, free fatty acids, and some glycoceramides in the mycelium of S. cirsii obtained on SSM may be related to its higher pathogenicity level and can serve as a marker of mycoherbicide quality.