NON-FILAMENTOUS AQUATIC FUNGI:
MODEL SYSTEMS FOR BIOCHEMICAL
STUDIES OF MORPHOLOGICAL
DIFFERENTIATION
EDWARD C. CANTINO
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
and
JAMES S. LOVETT
Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana
I. Introduction
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II. Some Aquatic Fungi Useful for Morphogenetic Studies
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A. Rhizidiomyces sp
36
B. Rhizophlyctis rosea
37
C. Karlingia (Karlingiomyces) sp
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D. Blastocladia pringsheimii
39
E. Blastocladiella britannica
40
III. Blastocladiella emersonii—a Model System for Experimental Studies of
Differentiation
41
A. The Swimming Spore Stage
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B. The Spore Germination Stage
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C. Synchronized Single-Generation Cultures
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D. Environmental Control of Exponential Growth
53
E. The Transition Between Exponential Growth and Differentiation
68
F. Developments Beyond the Point of No Return
77
G. Differentiation and Discharge of Zoospores
85
IV. Summary
87
References
90
I. Introduction
The ancient riddle of morphogenesis served admirably for many
centuries as a focal point for honourable speculation. More recent decades
have seen the point of view shift strongly to more technological and
experimental—more sophisticated, some would say—attacks upon the
problem. In many respects, the intensity and precision of these attacks,
and the definitiveness of results obtained therefrom, have been inversely
related to the organizational complexity of the experimental guinea-pig.
In part, this is because the most modern tools and the newest tricks of
the trade are often not as applicable, or adaptable, to the study of the
multicellular embryo of a pigeon as they are to the ribosomes in its liver
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