Mutagenic effect of cadmium on Trichoderma viride.

The effect of cadmium ion on growth and differentiation of the filamentous fungus Trichoderma viride was studied. Cd++ at a concentration of 10 mM strongly retarded growth and caused morphological changes. From cultures treated with cadmium, two white mutants and one yellow mutant were isolated. The white mutants formed no conidiophores and one of them produced colourless crystals in the cultivation medium. The yellow mutant differed from the parental strain mainly by the production of differently coloured conidia and by a slower growth rate.