Mossbauer effect studies in the fungus Phycomyces.

Mossbauer spectra of 57- Fe have been observed from different parts (mycelia, spores, sporangiophores) of the fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus grown in an agar medium isotopically enriched with 57- Fe. The spectra indicate that the iron within Phycomyces exists primarily in two chemical states: one which is the same as that of the iron in the growth medium and the other in the form of ferritin, an iron-storage protein. The amount of iron in the former state is observed to decrease relative to the amount of iron in the latter state in going from mycelia to the sporangiophores to the sporangia themselves. Thus, the conversion of iron from the chemical state of the nutrient to ferritin has been monitored for different parts of the phycomyces. In addition, our spectra indicate that at low temperatures the iron atoms clustered within a ferritin molecule are antiferromagnetically coupled. The size of these clusters is inferred from their superparamagnetic behavior at low tempertures and comparison with horse ferritin indicates that the phycomyces ferritin iron clusters are smaller by a factor of two.