Developmental Defects Resulting from Arginine Auxotrophy in Aspergillus nidulans

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Abstract
A mutant of A. nidulans, isolated for inability to form asexual spores (conidia) on complete medium, was found to regain the ability to conidiate if the medium was supplemented with arginine. On minimal medium the mutant required argininie for growth but at a much lower concentration than that required for conidiation. This mutant, designated argB12, thus defines a phase-critical gene, i.e., a gene whose function is in greater demand for development than for growth. In addition to its aconidial phenotype, the mutant also exhibited (depending on the medium) aberrant sexual development and a low efficiency of conidial germination. In crosses, each of these developmental phenotypes segregated with arginine auxotrophy. Genetic and biochemical analyses showed the argB12 mutation to be an allele of the previously described least 2 other loci were also found to be defective in asexual sporulation, but the germination defect appears to be specific to argB mutants.