ACCUMULATION OF PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS BY MUCOR RACEMOSUS.

James, A. W. (The Pennsylvania State University, University Park), and L. E. Casida, Jr. Accumulation of phosphorus compounds by Mucor racemosus. J. Bacteriol. 87:150-155. 1964.-In glucose-inorganic salts media containing excess KH(2)PO(4), Mucor racemosus accumulated 5 to 6% phosphorus on a dry-weight basis in its mycelium. Fractionation of phosphorus compounds in young, rapidly growing mycelium revealed that approximately 58% of this phosphorus was in the form of inorganic polyphosphate; nucleic acids accounted for an additional 17% of the total phosphorus. Upon further growth, morphological changes were observed in many of the hyphae, and polyphosphate appeared in the culture media. In media containing limited amounts of KH(2)PO(4), exogenous polyphosphate was utilized by M. racemosus, and the phosphorus content of the mycelium decreased to approximately 0.3%.