Effect of light and media upon growth and melanin formation in Cladosporium mansoni

Abstract

Cladosporium mansoni (ATC #762) was shown to grow best on trehalose although a number of other carbohydrates are good carbon sources. On the other hand, starch, lactose and inulin support growth poorly, or not at all. In certain media light induces the formation of abundant mycelium whose cells are of average size; in the dark, little or no mycelium is formed and many “giant” cells appear. The pigment of C. mansoni was extracted and shown to have properties in common with those of melanins of other fungi. Extracellular granules, resembling melanin, appear in a defined medium containing dextrine and ammonium nitrate. A comparison between the response of Cladosporium mansoni and Aureobasidium pullulans to light and carbon sources shows several points of divergence.