Figure 4

Induction of Phenotypic Degeneration in Neutralized C. militaris Strains by Hyperosmotic Conditions. (a) Phylogenetic tree depicting the relationship among C. militaris strains. (b) Representative images illustrating the repression of radial growth (upper panel) and fruiting body development (lower panel) under hyperosmotic culture conditions. Hyperosmotic conditions considerably suppressed radial expansion (c) and fruiting body development (f) while promoting increased spore densities (d) and intracellular glycerol concentrations (e) in all neutralized C. militaris strains. (g) Glycerol concentrations exhibited a positive correlation with spore density but a negative correlation with circle areas and fruiting body weights. PDA = Potato dextrose agar; DC = Fruiting Body Media (FBM); KCl = PDA or FBM + 0.4 M KCl. The data are presented as ranges, means, and standard deviations, with a sample size of n > / = 7. *, **, *** represents a significant difference (actual p values are presented in supplementary Table S12–S14). SD refers to standard deviation. NS refers to Nonsignificant. Culture Conditions indicates the strain name and the corresponding media. Significance was determined using a one-tailed t-test for two independent means, with an alpha level of 0.05.