SPORE FORMATION IN PHILOCOPRA COERULEOTECTA 
Hally J olivette Sax 
The greater part of the work done on spore formation in the 
Ascomycetes has been carried on in connection with the few-spored 
asci. The many-spored forms have received little attention due 
to the difficulties attending the smaller size of the spores in most cases. 
The process of delimitation of spores in a many-spored ascus is of 
special interest in that it may throw some light on the true nature of 
the ascus. The variations from the method found in the few-spored 
forms call for further study. 
The review by Sands (24) of the literature on the process of spore 
delimitation in the Ascomycetes, as well as the monograph by Guillier- 
mond (11) on the cytology of the Fungi, makes it unnecessary to 
give a detailed account of the work done. A brief review will suffice 
to show the present status of the question as well as the problems at 
hand. 
The process of spore delimitation in the Ascomycetes was first 
described by Harper (14). He found that the spores were cut out 
of the cytoplasm by the bending back of the astral rays and their 
subsequent fusion to form an ellipsoidal membrane. Harper (12, 13, 
14, 15, 16, 17) has described the process in a number of different genera. 
His work has been corroborated by work on additional forms by 
Guilliermond (8), Maire (21), Sands (24), the writer (18), and others. 
This view is opposed by Faull (i) who believes that the membrane 
is formed at the expense of a granular zone of cytoplasm. He believes 
the astral rays play no part in the delimitation of the spores. 
Harper's view that the astral rays are of the nature of cilia is 
opposed by Eraser (3, 4), who agrees with him that the spores are 
delimited by the astral rays in the forms studied by her. Following 
the hypothesis suggested by Harper (14, page 274) — that the centro- 
some may be the seat of fermentative activity — Eraser holds the view 
that at the close of the third division the centrosome may generate a 
ferment, which, as the nucleus pushes out toward the wall, flows back 
in its wake, producing a chemical change in the area through which 
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