Chemical Activation of Ascospore Germination in Neurospora crassa

Abstract

Ascorspores of N. crassa germinate without heat when treated with furfural in dilutions as high as 1 ppm. Concs. > 1 part in 40,000 are increasingly toxic to mycelial growth. Very young spores do not respond to furfural as well as to heat. Following the reversal of furfural activation by cyanide, spores can not be again activated by furfural but can be reactivated by heat.