Some ultrastructural aspects of Emericellopsis salmosynnemata : membrane systems associated with the plasmalemma

Includes bibliographical references.Includes illustrations.In January of 1970 preliminary work was begun in developing techniques to be used in ultrastructural studies of Emericellopsis salmosynnemata Grosklags and Swift (1957). The purpose of the study was not only to familiarize the author and others with the techniques involved in electron microscopy, but also to possibly discover correlates between ultrastructure of the fungus and antibiotic production, sporulation, reduced viability after growing on certain media, or pigment production. As work progressed, and the general aspects of ultrastructural morphology were elucidated, it was noted that certain organelles were observed with increasing regularity. These organelles have been called mesosomes, concentric lamellae, multivesicular bodies, and intercytoplasmic whorls, by various authors. It was decided to extend the study to include attempts to define ontogeny and function of these organelles and to clarify their relationship to the lomasome, another fungal organelle, the existence of which is well documented. The primary goals of correlating ultrastructure to other characteristics were discarded in favor of defining the lamellar organelles. The ascomycete Emericellopsis salmosynnemata is the perfect stage of Cephalosporium salmosynnemata, a laboratory contaminant described by Roberts (1952). The perfect stage produces cleistothecia after two or three weeks on corn meal agar. These are visible as small black dots. The ascocarp wall is transparent, allowing the asci and ascospores to be viewed without crushing the cleistothecium. A pink to salmon-colored growth is exhibited on potato dextrose agar, but no pigment is produced on corn meal agar. The fungus is homothallic.M.S. (Master of Science