[Selection and characterization of Penicillium cyclopium mutants with altered developmental program].

After treatment with NNMG, NaNO2 or UV-light of conidiospores of Penicillium cyclopium strain SM 72 variant strains (mutants) with altered developmental programme were selected. Additionally from a methionine-auxotrophic mutant of P. cyclopium prototrophic revertants were prepared. Investigation of the alkaloid metabolism and other idiophase processes has shown that these mutant strains can be divided into two groups (cf. table 1): a) Mutants with a depression of all idiophase features. The defects of these strains presumably affect central regulatory processes which, as in strain rev-met 83a, can be reversed spontaneously by an one-step mechanism and b) mutants defective in certain parts of the idiophase programme only, demonstrating that there is a certain autonomy in regulation of the individual parts of the programme.