Conference report Standardisation of methods for assessing mould germination: A workshop report Philippe Dantigny a, ⁎ , Maurice Bensoussan a , Valerie Vasseur b , Ahmed Lebrihi c , Claude Buchet d , Mustapha Ismaili-Alaoui e , Frank Devlieghere f , Sévastianos Roussos g a Laboratoire de Microbiologie, UMR Université de Bourgogne/INRA 1232, ENS.BANA, 1 Esplanade Erasme, F-21000 Dijon, France b Ecole Supérieure de Microbiologie et Sécurité Alimentaire de Brest, Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Ecologie Microbienne, Technopole Brest-Iroise, F-29280 Plouzane, France c Laboratoire de Génie Chimique, UMR5503 (CNRS/INPT/UPS), Département Bioprocédés et Systèmes Microbiens, 1 Avenue de l'Agrobiopole, BP 32607, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France d Degussa Ferments d'Aromatisation, 16 rue de la gare, F-77260 La Ferté-Sous-Jouarre, France e Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II, BP 6202, Rabat, Morocco f Laboratory for Food Microbiology and Food Preservation, Department of Food Safety and Food Quality, Coupure Links 653, Ghent University, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium g Laboratoire de Microbiologie de l'IRD, ESIL, Case 925, Universités de Provence et de la Méditerranée, 163 Avenue de Luminy; F-13288 Marseille cedex 9, France Abstract The first workshop on predictive mycology was held in Marseille, France, 2–4 February 2005 under the auspices of the French Microbiological Society. The purpose of the workshop was to list the different techniques and definitions used by scientists for assessing mould germination and to evaluate the influence of the different techniques on the experimental results. Recommendations were made when a large consensus was obtained. In order to facilitate the study of germination, alternative methods to microscopic examination were examined. Keywords: Mould; Fungi; Germination; Standardisation; Methods 1. Introduction Predictive modelling of filamentous fungi growth has not received the same level of attention as that of bacterial growth (Gibson and Hocking, 1997). Although this observation is true, to date the number of studies devoted to fungal development had increased significantly. Fungal development involves ger- mination followed by growth. Whereas, growth is usually reported as the measurement of the radial growth rate in milli- meter per day, techniques and definitions for assessing mould germination vary greatly between authors. Therefore germina- tion data obtained in the literature are difficult to compare. This is of major concern because a lot of time is required for obtaining these experimental data. Germination can be considered as the main step to be fo- cused on. In fact, visible mycelium appears shortly after ger- mination is completed. Germination requires microscopic observation for evaluating the length of the germ tube (Dan- tigny et al., 2005a). Moreover, observations and measurements should be carried out without opening the dishes (Magan and Lacey, 1984) and experimental devices should be developed for this purpose. In order to provide reproducible, accurate data, there is an urgent need for standardising methods for assessing mould germination. Spores, which are responsible for mould dissemination, are always used to study germination. Therefore, the way that spores are obtained, stored, prepared, inoculated and grown may have an influence on the germination kinetics. Two important definitions ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +33 380396671; fax: +33 380396640. E-mail address: phdant@u-bourgogne.fr (P. Dantigny).