Genetic and Environmental Factors Influencing the Production and Distribution of Protoperithecia in Sordaria brevicollis

Abstract

Fertile cultures of S. brevicollis were shown to make incipient fruiting bodies (protoperithecia) only after contact with the edge of the containing vessel. Experiments with different sizes of Petri dish and different amounts of media confirmed that contact with the edge was the stimulus for fruiting. Mutants with an altered response to the edge were studied. A correlation between the G-6-P concentration in the mycelium and the production and distribution of protoperithecia was demonstrated, but there was no evidence that this was causal.