THE EFFECTS OF CAPTAFOL ON MITOSIS OF ASPERGILLUS NIDULANS THROUGH LIGHT AND ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC INVESTIGATIONS

Andreas Vitoratos; Dimosthenis Chachalis; Ilias Travlos; Dimitrios Bilalis; Basil N Ziogas

doi:10.9755/ejfa.2015-04-120

Authors

Andreas Vitoratos Department of Organic Farming and Food Technology, Technological Educational Institute of Ionian Islands, Iosif Momferatou & Ilia Miniati, 28100, Argostoli Cephalonia, Greece;
Dimosthenis Chachalis Benaki Phytopathological Institute, St. Delta 7, 16451, Kifisia, Athens, GreeceBenaki Phytopathological Institute, St. Delta 7, 16451, Kifisia, Athens, Greece
Ilias Travlos 2 Benaki Phytopathological Institute, St. Delta 7, 16451, Kifisia, Athens, Greece; 3 Agricultural University of Athens, Faculty of Crop Science, 75, Iera Odos st., 11855, Athens, Greece
Dimitrios Bilalis gricultural University of Athens, Faculty of Crop Science, 75, Iera Odos st., 11855, Athens, Greece
Basil N Ziogas Agricultural University of Athens, Faculty of Crop Science, 75, Iera Odos st., 11855, Athens, Greece

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.9755/ejfa.2015-04-120

Keywords:

Aspergillus (Emericella) nidulans, Captafol, Genetic activity, Mitosis

Abstract

In the present work the genetic activity of the fungicide captafol was studied in a heterozygous diploid strain of Aspergillus (Emericella) nidulans. In vitro fungitoxicity tests of captafol on mycelia growth, showed a great increase of the color segregants. Analysis of white and yellow mitotic recombinants suggests that low captafol concentrations increase the mitotic crossing-over frequency while non-disjunction was also occurred at high concentrations. Light and electron microscopic observations of A. nidulans cells showed that captafol induces a number of cytological abnormalities in hyphae as well as in cell structures. A destruction of cytoplasmatic membrane, nucleus membrane and other membranes was observed. At concentrations of the fungicide highly inhibitory to growth (more than 50%), an abnormal nuclear division was observed which did not follow the typical mitotic function which is usually observed in Ascomycetes. On the contrary, the formation of an unequal lobe was present, which leads in an unequal distribution of chromosomal material in the sub-nuclei.