| Abstract: | Conidia of Torula caligans (Batista & Upadhyay) M. B. Ellis comb.nov. and T. terrestris Misra were examined by transmission- and scanning-electron microscopy. Torula caligans produced four-celled conidia in which the central cells were distinctly larger than the basal and apical cells. Conidia of T. terrestris were 4- to 7-celled long and ellipsoidal in shape. Conidiogenous cells in both species developed melanin only within the lowermost part of the lateral walls while the other cells of the conidium were uniformly melanized around the circumference of the cell; melanin in these cells being deposited within, at least, half the width of the cell wall. In both species new conidia arose from evagination of the hyaline apex of the conidiogenous cell and are therefore blastoconidia. The systematic relationships between T. caligans and T. terrestris and other species of the genus Torula are discussed. |
