identifier: traitmech:000603
label: negative autotropism
definition: A phenotype in which germ-tube emergence or hyphal extension is directionally
  biased away from neighboring cells or hyphae of the same species.
definition_source: DOI:10.3390/biomimetics10050287
trait_category: PHYSIOLOGY
term_kind: CLASS
mapping_status: PROPOSED
parent_traits:
- METPO:1000059
evidence:
- reference: DOI:10.3390/biomimetics10050287
  snippet: the hyphae often diverted their growth from their initial direction away
    from each other.
  notes: Montiel-Rubies et al. (2025), Section 3.4.1; exact span in directly retrieved
    Europe PMC JATS, PMC12109565 (PMID:40422117). Methods and Sections 3.2/3.4.1 were
    read; Figure 5 and Table 2 were visually inspected in the authors' PDF. This is
    a retrospective analysis of earlier microfluidic experiments, not a new independent
    replication of those datasets. Side-by-side Pycnoporus cinnabarinus hyphae redirected
    laterally where space allowed. Figure 5B instead shows head-on arrest and cytoplasm
    retreat, not growth away. Armillaria mellea divergence could reflect directional
    memory. For Neurospora crassa, Table 2 rates side-by-side avoidance strong and
    head-on avoidance not observed; prose calls the latter extremely rare. These qualitative
    descriptions are not counts or replication estimates. Supplementary movies were
    not inspected. The definition uses the directional-growth component of this paper's
    broader usage.
- reference: DOI:10.1093/jxb/19.1.125
  snippet: When germinated on agar surfaces the first three species exhibited negative
    autotropism, B. cinerea being neutral in its autotropic behaviour.
  notes: Robinson, Park and Graham (1968), original publisher abstract directly retrieved
    from https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/article-minimal/447341. The first three species
    are Rhizopus stolonifer, Mucor plumbeus and Trichoderma viride. Spore-pair assays
    concern orientation of germ-tube emergence, not demonstrated subsequent tip bending.
    Cellophane increased their negative response; Botrytis cinerea was neutral on
    agar and positive on Cellophane, so is not a negative exemplar here. Germination
    timing and cis-ness are separate readouts, not substitutes for orientation. The
    full paper, figures, strain provenance and sample sizes were not retrieved; proposed
    mechanisms in the abstract are not established causal pathways.
discussions:
- discussion_id: negative-autotropism-direction-and-self-scope
  prompt: Retain directional growth and stage-specific self-avoidance boundaries.
  kind: CURATION_TODO
  status: OPEN
  rationale: The directional phenotype includes initial germ-tube orientation and
    later hyphal redirection without requiring both in one organism. Same-species
    neighbors can include branches of one mycelium or separate spores; this does not
    assert genetic identity, vegetative incompatibility or a self-recognition receptor.
    Positive autotropism and hyphal fusion are not exact synonyms. Whole-cell taxis,
    growth inhibition, branching, passive bending and cytoplasm retreat alone are
    insufficient. The 2025 head-on category is broader than this record's directional
    scope. Do not infer chemotropism or aerotropism parentage from proposed inhibitory
    cues or oxygen depletion. Resolve external equivalents before adding xrefs or
    synonyms.
  posed_by: codex
  posed_date: '2026-10-04'
- discussion_id: negative-autotropism-provenance-and-mechanism
  prompt: Resolve natural strain provenance and causal signals before enrichment.
  kind: CURATION_TODO
  status: OPEN
  rationale: Canonical examples are deferred until the original strain sources and
    NCBI identities are verified. The 1968 full paper remains unread; the 2025 Methods
    refer strain culture details to earlier studies and include a ro-1 mutant whose
    origin has not been verified here. Mutation alone does not establish genetic engineering
    or natural provenance. Inspect the original imaging datasets and movies before
    quantitative prevalence claims. Spatial constraints, directional memory and local
    resource gradients remain competing contributors. Neither paper establishes a
    universal signal/receptor chain. Resolve direct native perturbation evidence and
    taxon-paired protein accessions before a causal graph; NONMECHANISTIC is not a
    grounding bypass.
  posed_by: codex
  posed_date: '2026-10-04'
curation_history:
- timestamp: '2026-10-04T20:13:46Z'
  curator: codex
  action: MINTED_TRAITMECH_ID
  changes: Added negative autotropism with two directly retrieved DOI-backed sources
    and exact snippets. Distinguished germ-tube emergence from hyphal redirection
    and excluded head-on arrest/retreat alone. Ignored-and-hidden searches and structured
    OWL review found no exact term. Reserved METPO:1055700 in v480 under released
    phenotype. Inspected Figure 5 and Table 2; retained retrospective-data, qualitative-assay
    and abstract-only limitations. Deferred canonical strains, external equivalents
    and molecular mechanisms.
  llm_assisted: true
- timestamp: '2026-10-04T20:20:10Z'
  curator: codex
  action: QUALIFY_STRAIN_PROVENANCE
  changes: 'Issue #1684: removed the unsupported engineered qualifier for ro-1. The
    directly read source identifies a mutant but does not establish its origin; neither
    engineering nor natural provenance is inferred from mutation alone. Original mint
    history is preserved.'
  llm_assisted: true