May 2, 1946

Dre Edward Le Tatum
. Osborn Botanical. Laboratory
Yale University ~

New Haven, Connecticut

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Dear Doctor Tatum:- eat

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feo I have Just received your recent letter in
‘which*you outline -some: work which you-are planning to carry on. -_

_ With Neurospora.

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oe gs _ ~, As to the technique .of obtaining quantities of
_microspores from wild’ type-races of N.-orassa,« 1am sure:that
almost any race of Neurospora can be made to Produce them by
adding a small“amount of water ‘to the culture at the right time.
i have no& done anything along this line for 10 or 15 years, ex-

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cept that I often find that a culture has developed enormous:
numbers of microspores after Wwe have applied a Water suspension
of moniliod conidia as a means of demonstrating artificial ~~
"spermatization.” Hollander did a lot of work irradiating micro-
spores, I understand. Niss simmer, who assisted him, ortzinally
worked with me some months as a-volunterr. I think she probably
showed them how to produce the microspores. I am sure that the ~
races of lls crassa that produce moniliod conidia. will produce
microspores. I did not have non-conidial races of that srecies

in 1952 when I clearly demonstrated the production of these vodies
by the wild type races of N. crassa. , rn

7 You ask for some of my races but you did not
State whether you want. races-of H. crassa or note: I have ouly
two races of HN. crassa, and these are windegren's “plus”~and. ..-°
"minus" races. ‘hey are direct descendants of. races 1 orizinally
gave hime If you want these 1 can send them to you. 1 do have
a number of conidial races of I. sitophila and several sets of
races of HN. tetrasperma, some from -ustralia, British Guiana, -
the Canal Jone, etc. -

I am very busy at this season of the year with
my regular job as plant pathologist so it is Sometimes difficult
to get time to do any work on Neurosporae Give me time and 1
write you again later. i,

Yours sincerely,

Be O. Dodge
BODeSs . Pathologist