Printed in Great Britain MITOSIS IN ASPERGILLUS NIDULANS

Mitosis in growing hyphae of haploid and diploid Aspergillus nidulans has been studied with the light microscope in Helly-fixed preparations. At the periphery of the nucleus a sharply defined granule is invariably found which has strong affinity for acid fuchsin. Mitosis begins with the duplication of this granule and the development inside the nucleus of a gradually lengthening fibre between the daughter granules. This fibre is also visible in dividing nuclei of living hyphae examined by phase-contrast microscopy, when it appears as a grey bar traversing the non-nucleolar region. Division of the chromatin has been studied in preparations stained with aceto orcein, directly or after hydrolysis. It proceeds through four phases, beginning with the condensation of distinct chromosomes from the chromatin network of the resting nuclei. Later the chromosomes become arranged in two parallel rows of chromatinic masses in which individual chromosomes can no longer be distinguished. Division is completed by migration of the chromatin to the ends of each row, giving the appearance of a transverse break in the double bar. The chromatin accumulating at the ends of the double bar condenses to form the two daughter nuclei. The number of chromatinic elements appears to be the same in both haploid and diploid nuclei, although the individual elements are larger in the latter