CHAPTER XVII 

 ASPERGILLACEAE 



The simplest member of this family, Aphanoascus cinnabarinus, is found 

 on decaying feathers and dung. The cells are multinucleate and the hyphae 

 abjoint lateral or terminal, hyaline, ovoid, multinucleate conidia. The forma- 

 tion of the perithecium is much as in the Gymnoascaceae. The multinucleate 

 copulation branches arise from neighboring cells of the same hypha or from 

 two separate hyphae. They undergo several nuclear divisions. The ascogonium 

 is slender and coils as a helix around the spherical antheridium (Fig. 88, 1). 

 Fertilization is absent ; the male nuclei degenerate ; the ascogonium de- 

 velops parthenogenetically, dividing into binucleate cells ; some of these grow 

 to ascogenous hyphae which coil helically and form lateral secondary branches 

 which again coil helically. The whole system is abjointed into binucleate 

 cells from which, apparently, the asci develop as lateral outgrowths (Fig. 88, 

 3). Meanwhile the knot is closely surrounded by sheath hyphae intertwining 

 at the periphery into a pseudoparenchymatous wall of several layers. The 

 perithecia are hyaline at first, becoming yellowish brown and finally cinnabar 

 red and up to 2 mm. in diameter (Dangeard 1907). 



There has been much controversy concerning the development of Monas- 

 cus purpureas and M. Barkeri, originally isolated from red Chinese rice, since 

 found in ensilage and preserves. As far as one can learn from the conflicting 

 accounts, the development is probably as follows : the mycelium consists of 

 regularly branched hyphae which cut off spherical or pyriform conidia either 

 singly or basipetally in chains. Both hyphal cells and conidia are multinu- 

 cleate. The antheridium consists of a 4-8 nucleate terminal cell which is 

 abjointed and undergoes no further differentiation (Fig. 89, 1). Directly un- 

 der the septum the ascogonial mother cell is abjointed and coils helically 

 about the antheridium (Fig. 89, 2). It is further divided into a 3-4 nucleate 

 terminal cell, the trichogyne, and a 4-6 nucleate basal cell, the ascogonium 

 (Fig. 89, 3). The nuclei of the trichogyne degenerate. Usually the antherid- 

 ium forms a papilla toward the trichogyne and fuses with it, and the male 

 nuclei migrate into the trichogyne (Fig. 89, 4). Thereupon the wall between 

 trichogyne and ascogonium is temporarily dissolved, the nuclei migrate into 

 the ascogonium, pair with the female nuclei, and migrate into the ascogenous 

 hyphae (Fig. 89, 5, 6). The antheridium collapses and disintegrates. 



Meanwhile the cell group has become closely surrounded by sterile sheath 

 hyphae which apparently nourish the swollen spherical ascogonium and hence 

 are gradually dissolved in the center of the fructification (Fig. 89, 6). The 

 peripheral layers are brown and pseudoparenchymatous, forming the perithe- 

 cial wall (Fig. 89, 11). The ascogenous hyphae divide into binucleate cells 

 which swell directly to 8-spored asci (Fig. 89, 7-10), according to Dangeard, 



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