Nuclear inheritance of the biosynthesis of cyclopenin and cyclopenol inPenicillium cyclopium

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Abstract
Balanced heterokarions were grown from P. cyclopium aux-glu 1, a glutamic acid auxotroph producing benzodiazepine alkaloids of the cyclopenin-cyclopenol group and P. viridicatum aux-met 1, a methionine auxotroph forming these alkaloids in traces only. In contrast to the hyphae of the parent strains, the hyphae of the heterokarions were dark orange-brown and grew well on media without the auxotrophic factors. In surface cultures they synthesized the benzodiazepine alkaloids cyclopenin and cyclopenol in amounts similar to those formed by the hyphae of P. cyclopium aux-glu 1. From the monokariotic conidiospores of the heterokarions homakariotic daughter strains were obtained which were similar to the parent strains in every respect. No exchange of features of cyclopenin-cyclopenol biosynthesis took place between the parent strains at the stage of the heterokarion. The formation of cyclopenin and cyclopenol in P. cyclopium aux-glu 1 and the nearly complete lack of biosynthesis of these compounds in P. viridicatum aux-met 1 is encoded within the nucleus and is not influenced by plasmic genetic material.