Subject: Identification of a nasty fungus

From: [email-masked] (David Pinero)
Date: 25 Jan 1996 00:37:24 GMT

I am currently involved in viable air sampling as part of a Grant 
project. I have screened around 300 Andersen air-impactor samples 
containing each an average of about a hundred colonies. In the past, 
overgrowth problems caused by fungi like Rhizopus, Mucor and Trichoderma 
species have occurred in malt agar samples. However, recently I came 
across what was the messiest, nastiest overgrowing fungus that beats the 
fastest growing Rhizopus isolate by a landslide. After only four days, it 
not only covered the standard sized petri dish, but also grew out of it, 
about an inch high, forcing the lid open and crawling out down to the 
base of the plate. Thick fluffs spread in all directions. This really 
took me by surprise. After cleaning and disinfecting, I searched the 
literature that I have available, but I couldn't identify for sure this 
fungus. Here is a description if anybody wants to help me:

   Isolated from air at New Orleans, Louisiana
   Very broad hyphae (7-10 um) resembling a zygomycete, but septate 
throughout. Sterile along most of the colony, except along the edges, 
where large amounts of  arthroconidia (the only reproductive structure 
found so far) break off. Arthroconidia large, 7-20 um long, variable in 
shape but starting off rectangular; some have branching points. 
   Colony is orange in color. Has a sweet but unpleasant smell. Texture 
is very fluffy, dense (sort of like furry, not thin hairy).
   My best guess is monilia sp., but I had some experience with isolates 
of Monilia Sitophila that are quite different (thinner texture, fast but 
not so fast growth, more branching, and more widespread conidiation); I 
don't have any information on other Monilia species.

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From: [email-masked] (David Pinero)
Date: 26 Jan 1996 02:31:55 GMT

I would like to thank all of you responding. I really appreciate it. 
These are so far the feedback I have had:

Neurospora anamorph (3 replies)
Chrisonilia (anamorph of Neurospora)  (1)
Thamnidium (1) <--- I don't know much about this one.

I should be able to get further information on Neurospora, as it is a 
commonly used fungus in genetical studies.

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From: [email-masked] ("K N and P J Harris")
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 1996 17:46:37 GMT

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> Subject: Identification of a nasty fungus
> Date: 25 Jan 1996 00:37:24 GMT
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I don't know what your present general line of research is but you have 
just equipped yourself with the favourite fungus of the fungal 
geneticists - Neurospora (probably Neurospora crassa after its crass 
habits ?). Spores like mad and will get everywhere. You may even find 
that you become "persona non grata" in other peoples labs, cos they 
don't want it either. Many years ago, here at Reading University UK, we 
suddenly had a lot of Neurospora around just by having a visiting 
speaker who specialised in it !
If I see a plate with a suspected Neurospora on it, it gets its own 
private immediate trip to the autoclave, Not very PC I agree, but thank 
God we can still be prejudiced against SOMETHING.

Peter Harris, 
Dept of Soil Science, 
Reading University,
UK.