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Abstract
SUMMARY Microscopic studies on four Chainia species have revealed that their vegetative raycelia were characterized by a rapid sclerotization resulting in the formation of broad, closely septate sclerotial hyphae measuring i to 3 μm in width. The sclerotia which subsequently formed originated from well-defined sclerotial initials which developed further by growth and division in different planes. A study of the internal structure of the sclerotia by microtomy revealed that they possessed a typical pseudoparenchymatous structure without any internal differentiation into zones.
The sclerotia developed in different ways. In Chainia barodensis and C. poonensis, the sclerotial initials were intercalary. In C. ochracea they arose laterally on multi-hyphal strands as is characteristic of many fungi. In Chainia 33br the sclerotial initials were both intercalary and lateral. In C. poonensis, C. ochracea and Chainia 33br the substrate growth sometimes formed a stroma-like crust with sclerotia anchored to or embedded in it. Scanning electron microscopy of sclerotia of C. barodensis showed that these structures possessed a characteristic surface architecture. The actinomycete sclerotium is not a simple hyphal aggregation but a definitive morphological entity with characteristic modes of development.
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