Biotransformation of Lycorine By Cryptococcus-terreus To A Stimulant of Budding In Cryptococcus-dimennae

Lycorine stimulates budding in Cryptococcus terreus. In lycorine-treated cultures, there is an increase in dry weight and even more in the number of cells. Cryptococcus dimennae is not affected by lycorine. The filtered medium of lycorine-treated cultures of C. terreus stimulates the growth of C. dimennae. The possibility that C. terreus is able to degrade lycorine and that a degradation product is able to stimulate budding in C. terreus and C. dimennae is discussed. Scanning electron microscopy analysis shows that cells in lycorine-treated cultures of C. terreus are round and smaller than those of the control. Similar differences are found in C. dimennae cells cultured in the filtered medium of C. terreus, whereas they appear identical if directly cultured either with or without lycorine.