An Effect of Light on Glucose Uptake by the Fungus Blastocladiella britannica

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Abstract
When synchronized single-generation cultures of the unicellular water mould Blastocladiella britannica are grown in the presence of white light, they develop into nearly colourless thin-walled sporangia; in the dark they develop into brown pitted thick-walled resistant sporangia. Under these conditions, dry weight/cell increases exponentially at the same rate in light and dark. However, the capacity for uptake of glucose by cells of various ages grown in the dark exceeds that of light-grown cells. Furthermore, just as the course of development along either of the two morphogenetic pathways can be reversed by excluding or supplying light before their respective points of no return, so, too, the rise in their capacities for glucose uptake can be similarly reversed. However, the point of no return for glucose uptake precedes the point of no return for morphogenesis by several hours. The light-sensitive glucose uptake by B. britannica may be a factor in determining the ultimate morphology of this organism.