DISTRIBUTION OF NUCLEI IN HYPHAL CELLS OFRHIZOCTONIA SOLANI

Abstract

Fixed and stained mycelium of two isolates of Rhizoctonia solani Kühn was examined microscopically to determine the variation in the numbers of nuclei in different cells. The number of cells examined was 568, and they were of three types. The number of nuclei in the hyphal tip cells varied from 2 to 15, the majority of cells having from four to eight. In the 'Y' type of cell the number of nuclei varied from 4 to 25, and in the majority of them from 4 to 15. The number of nuclei in the unbranched type of cell varied from 3 to 19, the majority of them having from 6 to 11 nuclei. Migration of nuclei through septal pores, in the direction of growth, was observed on several occasions in vivo. Difference in number of nuclei in the various living cells is a normal condition in this fungus, and the migration of nuclei through the septal pores is given as one of the possible causes of this variability.