FIG 5.

FigA is essential in self-fertilized fruiting body formation. (A) Conidia of appropriate strains were point inoculated at the center of solid minimal medium (MM in the figure indicates MMPDR) and incubated at 37°C for 2 to 3 days, and then the plates were sealed and further incubated at 37°C for 7 days to induce fruiting body production. Arrows indicate sexual fruiting bodies on plates. TN02A7 (wild type) and the ΔmidA and ΔmidA ΔcchA strains produced dark cleistothecia surrounded by white Hülle cells, but there were no detectable cleistothecia in the ΔfigA, ΔfigA ΔmidA, and ΔfigA ΔcchA mutants under normal, sexually induced conditions. (B) Extracellular calcium cannot rescue the defects of fruiting body formation in ΔfigA, ΔfigA ΔmidA, and ΔfigA ΔcchA cells under the same conditions as those described for panel A, except when 50 mM calcium is added to the above-described media.