Notes and Brief ArticlesFIASSON, ]. L. (1973). Les carotenordes de Cantharellus ianthinoxanthus (R. Maire)

Kuhner et sa position taxinomique. Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences de Paris276,3219-3220.

FIASSON,]. L. & ARPIN, N. (1967). Recherches chimiotaxinomiques sur les champignons.V. Sur les Carotenoides mineurs de Cantharellus tubaeformis Fr. Bulletin de la Societe deChimie Biologique 49, 537-542.

FIASSON, ]. L., PETERSEN, R. R., BOUCHEZ, M.-P. & ARPIN, N. (1970). Contributiona biochimique a la connaissance taxinomique de certains champignons cantharel­loides et clavarioides. Revue de Mycologie 34, 357-364.

]UNGALWALA, F. B. & CAMA, R. R. (1962). Carotenoids in Delonix regia (Guhl Mohr)flowers. Biochemical Journal 85, 1-8.

TURIAN, G. (1960). Identification des carotenoides majeurs de quelques champignonsAscomycetes et Basidiomycetes. Neurosporene chez Cantharellus irfundibuliformis,Archiu fiir Mikrobiologie 36, 139-146.

VALADON, L. R. G. (1963). Carotenoid pigments of Protomyces inundatus Dangeard.Phytochemistry 2, 71-73.

V ALADON, L. R. G. (1964)' Carotenoid pigments of some lower Ascomycetes. Journalof Experimental Botany 15, 219-224.

VALADON, L. R. G. (1966). Carotenoids of fungi. Advancing Frontiers of Plant Sciences 15,183-205.

VALADON, L. R. G. & MUMMERY, R. S. (1968). Carotenoids in floral parts ofa narcissus,a daffodil and a tulip. Biochemical Journal 106, 479-484.

VALADON, L. R. G. & MUMMERY, R. S. (1969). Changes in carotenoid composition ofcertain roses with age. Annals of Botany 33, 671-677.

VALADON, L. R. G. & MUMMERY, R. S. (1971). Carotenoids of Compositae flowers.Phytochemistry 10, 2349-2353.

VALADON, L. R. G. & MUMMERY, R. S. (1972). Chromatography of carotenoids usingpapers filled with Silica Gel and with Alumina. Phytochemistry II, 413-414.

NON-DEMATIACEOUS MUTANT OFGRAPHIUM PUTREDINIS

H.J. FLETCHER

School of Pharmacy, Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology, Aberdeen

Giaphium putredinis Corda (Hughes) is a dematiaceous hyphomyceteproducing grey pigment in synnemata and in some mononematousconidiophores (Fletcher, 1975). A mutant, or (IMI 183494) has beenobtained by UV irradiation of conidia of the wild type, WT (IMI169496). The mutant produces orange-brown synnemata and mono­nematous conidiophores on oat agar (OA: rolled oats 40 g; agar 20 g;water 1 1). Both WT and or give rise to a succession of rings of conidio­phores when exposed to alternating light and darkness on OA. The ringsare composed of grey and colourless bands in WT and orange-brown andcolourless bands in or. Both isolates grow at about the same rate in lightand darkness on OA (c. 2'0 mm/24 h). The mutant has proved to bestable over many generations.

The pigment of orwas found to be extractable by grinding in water andheating to 100°C, but not extractable by non-polar organic solvents(Thomson, 1971). Equal weights ofWT and or yielded equal amounts ofpigment, as shown by O.D. measurements of the yellow solution. The

Trans. Br. "!)Icol. Soc. 65 (3), (1975). Printed in GreatBritain

488 Transactions British Mycological Societyspectrum fell steadily between 400-500 nm and showed no definite peaks.The pigment was freely diffusible. Further attempts at separation byvarious chromatographic techniques were not successful. The dernatia­ceo us pigment was not formed by WT in submerged static broth cultureon malt-starch-peptone broth (MSP: malt extract 20 g; starch 10 g;peptone 5 g; water I 1). This might suggest that oxygen is a limiting factorin the synthesis of the dematiaceous pigment. Both isolates yieldedmycelial mats of identical appearance under these conditions.

The mutant seems to lack the ability to synthesize the dematiaceouspigment, rather than to produce an increase of orange-brown pigment.The absence of the dark masking pigment does not appear to affect themutant's activities in light, such as the production of rings or vegetativegrowth. The conidia of Graphium putredinis are uninucleate as shown by theGiemsa stain technique of Reau (1972), so that the orange-brown charac­ter would seem to be due to a mutation in a single nucleus, presumably in asingle gene. The mutant may prove to be a valuable tool in the furtherstudy of this fungus.

I wish to thank Dr G. Lysek of the Technical University of Munich andmy colleagues Dr K. E. Kendle and Dr G. M. Smith for advice onthe manuscript. I also wish to thank Miss Elma M. Reid for technicalassistance.

REFERENCES

FLETCHER, H. J. (1975). Conidiophore morphology in Graphium putredinis. Transactions ofthe British Mycological Society 64, 67-71.

REAU, P. (1972). Uninucleate spores of Phycomyces. Planta :108, 153-160.THOMSON, R. H. (1971). Naturally Occurring Quinones. London: Academic Press.

SELECTIVE MEDIUM FOR THE ISOLATION OFSERPULA LACRIMANS

C. R. COGGINS AND D. H. JENNINGS

Department ofBotany, The University, Liverpool, L69 SBX

The growth and survival characteristics of the dry rot fungus, Serpulalacrimans, in buildings are factors which severely affect the nation'seconomy. Monitoring the extent of mycelial growth in situ is difficultbecause the fungus usually grows behind the plaster and decorativesurface materials. Even microscopic examination of fragments of plastertaken from an infected wall does not give a reliable guide to the presenceof the fungus and certainly not its viability. The present work was de­signed to produce a rapid and reliable method for establishing the presenceor absence of mycelium under plaster so that in situ growth rates couldbe determined. One practical aim was to aid the work oftimber infestationsurveyors.

An interior brick wall, with plaster (1-2'5 cm) and decorative cover

Trans. Br. mycol. Soc. 65 (3), (1975). Printed in Great Britain