The effects of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid on respiration, nitrogen and carbohydrate metabolism of Aspergillus terreus Thom.

The effects of 2,4-D on respiration, carbohydrate and nitrogen metabolism have excited much interest in relation to higher plants (Hansen 1946, Hseuth and Lou 1946, SMITH et al. 1947, and Said and Naguib 1955). But the effects of 2,4-D on dungi have been tackled to a much less extent (Guiscafre-Arrilaga 1948, Bever and Slife 1948, Wei and Ling 1948, and Manil and Strazewska 1950). These investigators studied the effects exerted on fungal growth. Said and Naguib (1962) studied the effect of 2,4-D on the carbohydrate metabolism of Fusarium moniliforme. They showed that both sucrose inversion and absorption were retarded in the presence of 2,4-D. In the present investigation, a trial was carried out in order to elucidate the effect of 2,4-D on growth, nitrogen and carbohydrate metabolism of Aspergillus terreus when grown on two different nitrogen sources, namely sodium nitrate and ammonium phosphate.