Kinetics of secondary sporidial production by a wheat-bunt fungus, Tilletia caries

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Abstract
The kinetics of secondary sporidial production was determined for each of two haploid strains of Tilletia caries in a defined liquid culture medium. Four distinct sporidial types were identified on the basis of developmental stages observed during culture. They were classified as follows: class I, ungerminated filiform and lunate sporidia; class II, germinated sporidia with an attached, emerging secondary sporidium; class III, germinated sporidia that produce hyphae; and class IV, senescent sporidia and cells with atypical morphology. The doubling time for the respective spore classes of one haploid strain was 17.7, 15.2, 13.1, and 15.8 h. The doubling time for presumptive viable sporidia (classes I–III) of this strain was 15.4 h, whereas in the other strain of the same mating type, it was 9.5 h. Each strain attained a cell density of approximately 5–7 × 107 viable spores per millilitre at stationary phase, and class-I sporidia were the predominant viable spore type present. The lunate and filiform sporidia contained a single nucleus as shown by iron hematoxylin and DAPI (4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) nuclear stains.
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