Mould Identification: A Virtual Self Assessment

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Direct wet mount showing hyaline septate fungal hyphae.

Colonies are usually fast growing, pale or brightly colored (depending on the species) and may or may not have a cottony aerial mycelium. The color of the thallus varies from whitish to yellow, brownish, pink, reddish or lilac shades. Species of Fusarium typically produce both macro- and microconidia from slender phialides. Macroconidia are hyaline, two- to several-celled, fusiform- to sickle-shaped, mostly with an elongated apical cell and pedicellate basal cell. Microconidia are 1- to 2-celled, hyaline, pyriform, fusiform to ovoid, straight or curved. Chlamydoconidia may be present or absent.

Culture of Fusarium solani.

Microconidia of Fusarium solani are usually abundant, cylindrical to oval, 1- to 2-celled and formed from long lateral phialides.

Macroconidia Fusarium solani are formed after 4-7 days from short multi-branched conidiophores which may form sporodochia. They are 3- to 5-septate (usually 3-septate), fusiform, cylindrical, often moderately curved, with an indistinctly pedicellate foot cell and a short blunt apical cell.

Chlamydoconidia Fusarium solani are hyaline, globose, smooth- to rough-walled, borne singly or in pairs on short lateral hyphal branches, or they are intercalary.

Comment:
Identification of Fusarium species is often difficult due to the variability between isolates (e.g. in shape and size of conidia and colony color) and because features that are required are not always well developed (eg. the absence of macroconidia in some isolates after subculture). The important characteristics used in the identification of Fusarium species are as follows. Note, sporulation may need to be induced in some isolates and a good slide culture is essential.

Most Fusarium species are soil fungi and have a world-wide distribution. Some are plant pathogens causing root and stem rot, vascular wilt or fruit rot. Other species cause storage rot and are important mycotoxin producers. Several species, notably F. oxysporum, F. solani and F. moniliforme, are recognized as being pathogenic to man and animals causing mycotic keratitis, onychomycosis and hyalohyphomycosis, especially in burn victims and bone marrow transplant patients.

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