DIFFERENTIATION OF RHIZOMUCOR SPECIES BY CARBON SOURCE UTILIZATION AND ISOENZYME ANALYSIS

Nineteen Rhizomucor miehei and Rhizomucor pusillus isolates mere assay ed for their ability to utilize 87 various substrates as a single carb on source. Besides a difference in sucrose utilization, distinctive di fferences were found in the utilization of glycine, phenylalanine, and beta-alanine. Five isoenzyme systems also proved useful for the deter mination of markers of distinctive value at a species level. Data were used to obtain information about the genetic polymorphism of these sp ecies: a high degree of variability was found among the R. pusillus is olates, whereas the group of R. miehei isolates was more homogeneous g enetically.