Reinvestigation of the proposed red light effect on carotenogenesis in the fungus Verticillium agaricinum

Abstract

It has been claimed that the fungus Verticillium agaricinum (Link) Corda is able to form carotenoids after short‐term irradiation with very weak red light. A reinvestigation of this report has been performed on a larger scale. Comparison was made with samples treated with UV‐A light and with dark controls. The means and the se were calculated. Student's t tests and Mann‐Whitney's U tests have also been carried out. The conclusion of this investigation is that there is no effect of red light on carotenogenesis in V. agaricinum, while the effect of UV‐A light is easy to demonstrate under the same conditions.