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School of Molecular & Biomedical Science |
Cladosporium sp.Colonies are rather slow growing, mostly olivaceous-brown to blackish brown but also sometimes grey, buff or brown, suede-like to floccose, often becoming powdery due to the production of abundant conidia. Vegetative hyphae, conidiophores and conidia are equally pigmented. Conidiophores are more or less distinct from the vegetative hyphae, are erect, straight or flexuous, unbranched or branched only in the apical region, with geniculate sympodial elongation in some species. Conidia are 1- to 4-celled, smooth, verrucose or echinulate, with a distinct dark hilum and are produced in branched acropetal chains. The term blastocatenate is often used to describe chains of conidia where the youngest conidium is at the apical or distal end of the chain. Note, the conidia closest to the conidiophore and where the chains branch, are usually "shield-shaped". The presence of shield-shaped conidia, a distinct hilum, and chains of conidia that readily disarticulate, are diagnostic for the genus Cladosporium.
Culture of Cladsporium cladosporioides.
Conidiophores and conidia of Cladosporium cladosporioides. For identification, isolates are best grown on potato dextrose agar or 2% malt extract agar at 20-25C. Microscopic mounts are best made using a cellotape flag or slide culture preparation mounted in lactophenol cotton blue. A drop of alcohol is usually needed to detach the cellotape flag from the stick, and to act as a wetting agent.
MIC data is limited. Antifungal susceptibility testing of individual strains is recommended.
Clinical significance:Cladosporium species have a world-wide distribution and are amongst the most common of air-borne fungi. Some 500 species have been described. Isolates of Cladosporium are frequently isolated as contaminants. RG-1 organisms. The pathogenic species have now been transferred to the genus Cladophialophora. Mycosis: PhaeohyphomycosisFurther reading:Domsch, K.H., W. Gams, and T.H. Anderson. 1980. Compendium of soil fungi. Volume 1. Academic Press, London, UK.
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