In order to isolate mutants in Rhizopus nigricans, the optimal treatment conditions for the chemical mutagens, N-Methyl-N¢¥-Nitro-N-Nitrosoguanidine(MNNG) and Ethyl Methane Sulphonate(EMS), were explored. When MNNG was used as the chemical mutagen, the optimum concentration and treatment time for the best mutation frequency were 125 §¶/§¢ and 60 minutes, respectively. Under the optimum conditions for MNNG, the survival rate was 0.1-1.0%. The leucine auxotroph could be isolated. The phenotypic characteristics of the three mutants prepared are as follows; shortened sporangiophore, spiral sporangiophore, and reduced size of sporangium and sporangiospore. However, EMS as the chemical mutagen was ineffective for this species.
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