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Sexual Crosses with the Mucoromycete Phycomyces blakesleeanus
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Sexual Crosses with the Mucoromycete Phycomyces blakesleeanus

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A cytoplasmically inherited mutation in the fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus

J Arnau1, F J Murillo, S Torres-Martínez

  • 1Departamento de Genética y Microbiología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, Spain.

Journal of General Microbiology
|August 1, 1990
PubMed

Insights

Researchers isolated copper-resistant fungal mutants, finding resistance unstable. One mutant strain showed cytoplasmic inheritance and altered growth, respiration, and spore characteristics compared to the wild type.

Area of Science:

  • Mycology
  • Genetics
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Copper is an essential micronutrient but toxic at high concentrations.
  • Understanding mechanisms of heavy metal resistance in fungi is crucial for environmental and industrial applications.
  • Phycomycomyces blakesleeanus serves as a model organism for studying fungal genetics and physiology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To isolate and characterize copper-resistant mutants of Phycomyces blakesleeanus.
  • To investigate the inheritance pattern of copper resistance.
  • To analyze physiological and morphological differences in a copper-resistant mutant strain.

Main Methods:

  • Isolation of fungal mutants resistant to copper.
  • Assessment of copper resistance stability.
  • Cytoplasmic inheritance analysis.
  • Comparative analysis of growth rate, respiration, and spore characteristics between mutant and wild-type strains.

Main Results:

  • Fourteen Phycomyces blakesleeanus mutants with high copper resistance were isolated.
  • Copper resistance was a variable and unstable trait in all isolated mutants.
  • The mutation in strain MU102 was cytoplasmically inherited.
  • Strain MU102 exhibited significant differences in growth, respiration rate, and spore morphology and viability compared to the wild-type.

Conclusions:

  • Copper resistance in Phycomyces blakesleeanus can be induced through mutation but is often unstable.
  • Cytoplasmic factors play a role in copper resistance inheritance.
  • Copper resistance is associated with pleiotropic effects on fungal physiology and morphology.

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