Response of Aspergillus nidulans and Physarum polycephalum to microwave irradiation med./bio.

To investigate the effects of microwave exposure on two different kinds of fungi.

The organisms studied were: 1) Aspergillus nidulans, an Ascomycete and 2) Physarum polycephalum, a Myxomycete. Spores of A. nidulans were exposed before and during germination to investigate changes in survival rate and morphological appearance. On P. polycephalum the incorporation of radioactive labeled ³H-Thymine into DNA under microwave exposure was studied.
(evaluator's notice: the authors have used Physar-i-um in the headline and Physarum in the text. According to the NCBI taxonomy database the latter orthography is the right one.)

• fungi/Aspergillus nidulans and Physarum polycephalum
• two different mutants of A. nidulans were used (paba A1/biA1 und ts6/yA2), they reveal chromosomal changes by easily observable morphological changes (e.g. color, size)

No changes in survival rate and morphological mutations were found in A. nidulans.
The investigation on the ³H-Thymine incorporation into DNA by P. polycephalum showed the following result: The incorporation rate found under conditions of microwave exposure was nearly five times greater than in control group and about twice than found in thermal control group. But on the basis of the results a simple thermal activation could not be excluded; in other words: the observed increase can not clearly ascribe to exposure specifc parameters alone.