We report that two species of basidiomycete fungi ( Polyporus versicolor and Poria monticola ) grow in minimal liquid or solid medium when supplemented with crushed lignite coal. The fungi also grow directly on crushed lignite coal. The growth of both fungi was observed qualitatively as the production and extension of hyphae. No fungal growth occurred in minimal agar medium without coal. The fungi degraded solid lignite coal to a black liquid product which never appeared in cultures unless fungi and coal were present together. Apparently, lignite coal can serve as the principal substrate for the growth of the fungi. Infrared analyses of the liquid products of lignite degradation showed both similarities to and differences from the original lignite.

This work establishes that cessation of root elongation of intact squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) plants is an early result of boron deficiency. Root elongation is slowed by 6 hours and is virtually stopped as early as 24 hours after boron is first withheld from the nutrient solution. As root elongation ceased, cell elongation progressed distally into the region normally occupied by the apical meristem and eventually the meristem became indistinguishable. Differentiation was determined by use of an elongation index in which cell length was compared to cell width. This index ranged from a low of 0.8 in boron-sufficient root meristems to a high of 3 in root meristems grown in a boron-deficient nutrient solution for 98 hours. It is concluded that a continuous supply of boron is not essential for cell elongation but is required for maintenance of meristematic activity. Boron may act as a regulator of cell division in this tissue. treated and were grown in modified Shive nutrient solution containing boron (+B) as described by Albert and Wilson (1). On the 5th day, roots were washed and placed into either freshly prepared modified Shive nutrient solution to which boron was added (+B) or into nutrient solution without added boron (-B). Water for both types of solutions was obtained by passing distilled H2O through a Millipore Milli-Q2 system. Just before placing the plants into +B or -B nutrient solutions, two roots/ plant were marked by placing small India ink marks 10 mm from the root tip. Subsequent root elongation was determined by measuring the distance from the root tip to the mark. Net root elongation was determined after periods of 0,6, 12, 24, 48, 72, and 98 hr of +B and -B treatment and root tips were harvested for histological examination at these times. The terminal 1 cm of each root was excised, fixed in formaldehyde-acetic-acid-alcohol (6), dehydrated, embedded in paraffin, sectioned, and stained with Sharman stain (11).Alexander (2) studied the onset of boron deficiency in squash plants grown in solution culture in which boron was withheld. He examined the roots of boron-deficient plants after periods of 48, 72, and 98 hr of boron deficiency to observe histological effects of the treatment. After 48 hr of boron deficiency, he reported a decrease in the size of the root cap; collapsed, disintegrated, and enlarged cells or groups of cells in the peripheral portions of the stele; and differentiation close to the root meristem. Examination of roots after 98 hr of boron deficiency commonly revealed death of the extremities of the tip. In the region of elongation, individual cells could no longer be recognized. Varying degrees of response were observed in any given experiment.Other workers have questioned whether boron is necessary for either cell elongation or cell division. Alexander (2), Neales (7), and Sommer and Sorokin (8) beginning from the 5th day onward). Measurements made during the first 24 hr of boron deficiency are presented in Figure 1. All points represent means of at least 100 roots. At all...

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