Graph of Cellular Automata as a Metaphor of Fusarium Graminearum Growth Implemented in GPGPU CUDA Computational Environment Paweł Topa 1,2 , Maciej Kuźniar 1 , and Witold Dzwinel 1,3 1 AGH University of Science and Technology, al. Mickiewicza 30, Kraków, Poland 2 Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Biogeosystem Modelling Laboratory, Research Centre in Cracow, Senacka 1, Kraków, Poland 3 WSEiP High School of Economy and Law, Jagiellonska 109A, Kielce, Poland Abstract. Fusarium Graminearum is responsible for Fusarium head blight (FHB) infection which reduces world-wide cereal crop yield. As a consequence of mycotoxin production in cereal grain, it has also serious negative impact on both human and animal health. The main objective of this study is to develop a mechanistic and conceptual metaphor of Fusarium growth. Our model is based on a new realization of Graph of Cellular Automata paradigm (GCA) used before for simulating anasto- mosing rivers and the process of angiogenesis in solid tumors. We demon- strate that GCA model is a very universal metaphor, which can also be used for mimicking Fusarium type of growth. To enable 3-D interactive simulations of realistic population ensembles (10 5 -10 7 plant and fungal cells), the GCA model was implemented in GPGPU CUDA environment resulting in one order of magnitude speedup. Keywords: Cellular Automata, GPGPU, complex networks, fungi modelling. 1 Introduction Fusarium Graminearum is one of the main causal agents of Fusarium head blight (FHB) infection. It attacks cereal crops resulting in a significant grain yield reduction. The epidemic, which took place in North America from 1998 to 2000, costs almost $3 billion. Another effect of this plague is the contamination of grain with mycotoxins, which is extremely harmful for animals and humans. The infection is initiated by deposition of spores on or inside spike tissue [1]. Wheat heads are the most susceptible to infection during anthesis. Other factors favoring infection are high humidity and temperature. Initially, the fungus does not penetrate the epidermis. As shown in [1], at this stage it develops on the external surfaces of florets and glumes and grows towards susceptible sites within the inflorescence. Other roads of colonization of internal tissue include stomata and underlying parenchyma, partially or fully exposed anthers, openings between the lemma and palea of the spikelet or floret during dehiscence and through the base of the wheat glumes where the apidermis and prenchyma are thinwalled [1]. R. Wyrzykowski et al. (Eds.): PPAM 2011, Part II, LNCS 7204, pp. 578–587, 2012. c  Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012