36 



It has been proved, however, that the microconidia, if placed 

 in the right environment, slowly germinate, and eventually pro- 

 duce perfectly normal mycelia. If the microspore came from a 

 mycelium that also produced monilioid conidia, then its my- 

 celium will produce monilioid conidia. Functionally it isn't male 

 any more than any other structure produced by that mycelium 

 is male. Microspores, monilioid conidia, ascogonia and "sclero- 

 tia" are merely specially differentiated structures; as such they 

 are better able to function in certain ways and thus bring about 

 certain developments. That is, as just stated, one is genetically 

 or inherently no more male or female than the other bodies de- 

 veloped on the same mycelium, because in each lies the poten- 

 tialities of the whole race. Blakeslee's final conclusions are that 

 in the Mucoraceae morphologically the + and — strains do 

 not represent male and female strains. Nevertheless, they are 

 of opposite sex in their reactions. The difference in the size of 

 the fusing gametangia in Zygorhynchus or in Dicranophora is 

 no criterion of maleness and femaleness. The larger gametan- 

 gium is + in one case and — in the other. There are certain sex 

 factors in heterothallic species, however, which determine 

 whether or not two mycelia will unite in sexual reproduction. 

 This apparently is essentially the situation in Neurospora sito- 

 phila where a mycelium is neither male nor female. It produces 

 coiled structures, monilioid conidia, microspores, sclerotia, etc. 

 Genetically they are all exactly alike barring mutations which 

 may have occurred during the life of the culture. The ordinary 

 monilioid conidia can function either in fertilization directly, 

 or as asexual spores in their vegetative function. The micro- 

 spores can function not only as vegetative spores, but also as 

 "spermatia" in sexual reproduction. There are few cases where 

 the student can be shown so clearly that an organ can be one 

 thing morphologically, and function in an entirely different ca- 

 pacity. It might not be out of place to point out to him that 

 when we use the terms, male, female, sex, sexuality, in discus- 

 sions involving the lower plants such as the fungi, we are not 

 always consistent. We certainly cannot use these terms in the 

 sense in which they are applied to the animals or to the higher 

 plants. For example, the microconidia of Neurospora are homol- 

 ogous with the so-called spermatia of the lichens and other 

 fungi, and probably with the spermatia of the red algae, but 



