The Morphology and a Chemical Analysis of the Teliospore of the Dwarf Bunt Fungus, Tilletia Contraversa

Abstract

By selective solvents and digestions, combined with chemical and histo-chemical tests on residues and effluents, the morphology and chemical composition (in part) were determined for T. contraversa teliospores. They consisted of several distinct, mechanically separable layers. These layers, including defined chemical constituents, were: 1) a sheath, primarily a pectic-material complex, incorporating hemicelluloses (including callose) and lipoids (possibly phospholipid in part); 2) a reticulum, containing pectic materials, hemicelluloses (including callose), proteins, melanin pigments, and lipoids (possibly phospholipid in part); 3) a "mesospore" material, cementing the reticulum to the endospore that contained lipoids (other constituents could not be defined as separate from other layers, although chitin was indicated); 4) an outer endospore, primarily chitin, but containing hemicelluloses (including callose in immature spores and sterile cells); 5) an inner endospore composed of at least chitin, hemicelluloses and pectin materials (callose and protein were indicated but not defined as distinct to the layer); and 6) the protoplast in which were identified pectic materials, proteins, hemicelluloses (including callose, in immature spores and sterile cells), and lipoids (mostly ergosterol).