Ultrastructure of a Thermotolerant Basidiomycete Possibly Suitable for Production of Food Protein

Abstract

The imperfect cellulolytic fungus Sporotrichum pulverulentum, which is commonly found growing in wood-chip piles, was grown in submerged culture on wheat shorts and other cereal flours. These substrates were broken down in 1 to 4 days at 30 to 40 C, and the mycelial mass was easily harvested by filtration. Scanning electron micrographs of hyphae in mycelial pellets are presented, and thin sections of conidia and hyphae were studied in a transmission electron microscope. Dolipores in septa of hyphae were observed, and cell walls are shown to be lamellar, which is characteristic of the Basidiomycetes. Actively growing hyphae are full of cytoplasm with numerous mitochondria, whereas old mycelial pellets contain highly vacuolated and almost empty cells.