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Abstract
SUMMARY: The thermophilic actinomycete Micromonospora vulgaris resembles known mesophilic members of the genus Micromonospora in reproducing by means of small retractile spores borne singly on lateral branches of the vegetative mycelium. Its distinctive feature is the consistent production of a secondary aerial mycelium under optimal laboratory cultural conditions and in grass composts during the high temperature phase. This aerial mycelium is composed of abundantly branched, hydrophobic filaments which rapidly segment. The cells in these filaments may in turn give rise to similar refractile spherical spores borne singly on very short lateral branches. The reproductive pattern here described is one of the most complex yet known among the actinomycetes. It is thought that the aerial phase of development is intimately associated with the thermophilic nature of the organism.
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