Neurospora following a Volcanic Eruption

Abstract

EARLY in 1951, Mount Lamington in New Guinea erupted violently, and the resulting shower of hot ashes which followed the explosion devastated many miles of the countryside, causing severe damage and loss of life. Very soon after the eruption, Mr. G. A. Taylor, volcanologist stationed in New Guinea, visited the area, and in the course of his investigations found large patches of a pink fungus which he collected and sent for identification. The fungus was readily isolated and proved to be a heterothallic species of Neurospora, which has been provisionally identified as N. crassa (Shear and Dodge). The genus Neurospora is well known as a troublesome pest of bakeries and similar high-temperature situations. The ascospores of this genus do not germinate readily unless subjected for a brief period to high temperatures (for example, 1 hr. at 60° C.). Its occurrence, therefore, in the Mount Lamington area, while not at all surprising to mycologists, is an interesting example of the invasion of an unusual ecological niche.