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M Delbrück

Publications and source records attributed to M Delbrück.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1976

Responses of Phycomyces indicating optical excitation of the lowest triplet state of riboflavin.

Phototropic and light growth responses of the sporangiophore of Phycomyces have been elicited using tunable laser stimulation from 575 to 630 nm. The growth response shows additional components of the action spectrum with a sharp peak at 595 nm, a sharp cut-off at 585 nm, and a tail extending beyond 630 nm. The integral over the electronic transition (f-value) is 1.5 X 10(-9) times that at 455 nm. These parameters indicate a direct transition from the ground state to the lowest triplet state of riboflavin.

Fungi↗
PubMed1975

Meiosis in Phycomyces.

A four-factor cross between two strains of Phycomyces involving two auxotrophic, one color, and the mating type marker is described. Samples of 40 germspores from 84 individual fertile germsporangia were characterized. The results show: (i) The germspores of a germsporangium are derived from one meiosis in approximately 78% of the cases. (ii) The four markers are on separate chromosomes. They are nonselective. (iii) Analysis of a large sample of germspores from 106 pooled germsporangia confirms that the four markers are unlinked. (iv) From the ditype/tetratype ratios it is inferred that each marker is located about 15 map units from its centromere.

Alleles↗
PubMed1975

Brownian motion in biological membranes.

Brownian motion (diffusion) of particles in membranes occurs in a highly anisotropic environment. For such particles a translational mobility (independent of velocity) can be defined if the viscosity of the liquid embedding the membrane is taken into account. The results of a model calculation are presented. They suggest that for a realistic situation translational diffusion should be about four times faster in relation to rotational diffusion than in the isotropic case.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Avoidance response, house response, and wind responses of the sporangiophore of Phycomyces.

Avoidance response: An object placed 1 mm from the growing zone of a Phycomyces sporangiophore elicits a tropic response away from the object. The dependence of this response on the size of the object and its distance from the specimen is described, as well as measurements which exclude electric fields, electromagnetic radiation, temperature, and humidity as avoidance-mediating signals. This response is independent of the composition and surface properties of the object and of ambient light. House Response: A house of 0.5- to 10-cm diameter put over a sporangiophore elicits a transient growth response. Avoidance responses inside closed houses are slightly smaller than those in the open. Wind responses: A transverse wind elicits a tropic response into the wind, increasing with wind speed. A longitudinal wind, up or down, elicits a transient negative growth response to a step-up in wind speed, and vice versa. It is proposed that all of the effects listed involve wind sensing. This proposal is supported by measurements of aerodynamic effects of barriers and houses on random winds. The wind sensing is discussed in terms of the hypothesis that a gas is emitted by the growing zone (not water or any normal constituent of air), the concentration of which is modified by the winds and monitored by a chemical sensor. This model puts severe constraints on the physical properties of the gas.

Fungi↗
PubMed1970

Effects of cold periods on the stimulus-response system of Phycomyces.

The sporangiophores of Phycomyces do not exhibit phototropic responses when growth is arrested reversibly by cooling to 1 degrees C. Unilateral UV stimuli (254 nm) applied during cold periods are stored for at least 2 hr and produce tropic responses away from the light after warm-up. During the cold period dark adaptation proceeds at a rate which decreases with the temperature.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1969

Phycomyces.

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Cell Biology↗
PubMed1967

Absorption and screening in Phycomyces.

In vivo absorption measurements were made through the photosensitive zones of Phycomyces sporangiophores and absorption spectra are presented for various growth media and for wavelengths between 400 and 580 mmicro. As in mycelia, beta-carotene was the major pigment ordinarily found. The addition of diphenylamine to the growth media caused a decrease in beta-carotene and an increase in certain other carotenoids. Growth in the dark substantially reduced the amount of beta-carotene in the photosensitive zone; however, growth on a lactate medium failed to suppress beta-carotene in the growing zone although the mycelia appeared almost colorless. Also when diphenylamine was added to the medium the absorption in the growing zone at 460 mmicro was not diminished although the colored carotenoids in the bulk of the sporangiophore were drastically reduced. Absorption which is characteristic of the action spectra was not found. Sporangiophores immersed in fluids with a critical refractive index show neither positive nor negative tropism. Measurements were made of the critical refractive indices for light at 495 and 510 mmicro. The critical indices differed only slightly. Assuming primary photoreceptors at the cell wall, the change in screening due to absorption appears too large to be counterbalanced solely by a simple effect of the focusing change. The possibility is therefore advanced that the receptors are internal to most of the cytoplasm; i.e., near the vacuole.

Carotenoids↗