Modelling Sporangiospore-yeast transformation of Dimorphomyces strain.

ABSTRACT

Two types of buffered media, strictly defined-Ammonium sulphate-basal salts and complex Peptone-basal salts, were used for the cultivation of Dimorphomyces pleomorphis, one of two dimorphic fungi isolated from fermenting juice of soursop fruit, Annona muricata L. The growth count was taken every twenty-four hours. Transient morphologies were observed to change from sporangiospores through enlarged globose cells, to granular particles and eventually, polar budding yeast cells in the strictly defined medium at 15 degrees, 20 degrees, or 37 degrees C, but the complex medium casually terminally induced polar budding yeast cells and multipolar budding yeast like cells in between the growth phases, at 15 degrees and 20 degrees C, while mainly multipolar budding yeastlike morphology was observed at elevated temperature. There was obvious influence of nutritional factor or morphological expression (p < 0.01). After analysis of variance, the growth data could not fit into predictive quadratic polynomial model because the organism's response curves were incongruent with basic assumptions of the model. Furthermore, a stepwise regression analysis gave very low coefficients of determination, r2, for the interactive combinations. They were therefore, considered unfit for the data. Construction of the pII-profiles led to inference being drawn from the chemiosmotic theory, polyelectrolyte theory to account for the behaviour in the buffered multiionic media. It was also thought that inherent cellular mitotic division and glycolytic activity led to a prelogarithmic growth response.