[Sporangiospores of the fungus Mucor lusitanicus 12M: correlation between lipid composition, viability, and morphology of growth upon germination].

We studied viability of sporangiospores from a surface culture of the fungus Mucor lusitanicus 12M grown on wheat bran. With culture ageing, the sporangiospores exhibited a tendency toward dimorphic growth upon germination and then lost the ability to germinate. This correlated with changes in the sporangiospore lipid composition, which involved a reduction in the total lipid pool and in the levels of reserve lipids and phospholipids in particular. We suggest that lipid catabolism in sporangiospores causes their defectiveness in the senescent culture.