Two Fatty Acid Requiring Mutants of Ophiostoma multiannulatum.

The mutants Nos. 2374 and 2377 of Ophiostoma multiannulatum could be cultivated in a glucose-mineral-salt solution if palmitic, stearic or oleic acid were included in the medium. Lauric, linoic, and linokenic acid proved less satisfactory, and no acid with a carbon atom number below 10 showed any activity. The growth was poor unless glucose (or some other suitable carbohydrate) was present together with the fatty acid. Each compound was required in such quantity as to suggest a utilization not only as a nutrient but also as a source of energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]