Figure 2

Hyphal morphology during four distinct cultivation phases. (A) Intact hyphae from the exponential growth phase with an average diameter of approximately 3 μ m. (B) 16 hours after carbon depletion empty hyphal compartments emerged (white triangles) and new hyphae with a significantly reduced average diameter of approximately 1 μ m appeared (black triangles). (C) 60 hours after carbon depletion, the number of empty hyphal compartments increased and thin hyphae elongated in a non-branching manner. First reproductive structures emerged (white-edged triangles). Thin hyphae even grew cryptically inside empty hyphal ghosts (black-edged triangles). (D) Even 140 hours after carbon depletion, surviving compartments were present (black pentagon) often bearing morphologically reduced reproductive structures (white-edged triangle). The mycelial network consisted largely of empty hyphal ghosts but hyphal fragmentation was rarely observed. The scale bar refers to 5 μ m.