Mycology Exam 1 Flashcards
Long strands of tubelike structures. Made of chitin.
Hyphae
mat or growth of many hyphae
Mycelia
Mycelia growing above the agar
Aerial
Mycelia growing down into agar to obtain nutrients
Vegitative
Transverse subdivision of cells in hyphae
Septation
Lack of subdivision of cells in hyphae
Aseptate or “Sparsely Septate”
Dimorphic
a fungus that lives as a mold in the environment but as a yeast at body temp
Swollen structure at the end of conidiophore
Vesicle
flask-shaped segments which produce conidia
Phialides
Small, unicellular, round; borne on side of hyphal strand
Microconidia
Large, multiseptate, club of spindle-shaped; borne on conidiophore
Macroconidia
Budding forms produced by yeast
blastospores/blastoconidia
elongated blastoconidia that remain attached
Pseudohyphae
round, thick-walled resistant spores observed at the hyphal tip, on sides of hyphae, or within hyphal strand
Chlamydospores/chlamydoconidia. Associated with Candida albicans
Spores formed directly from hyphae by fragmentation of the points of septation
Arthrospores/arthroconidia
Formed by sexual reproduction by the fusion of 2 nuclei into a zygote
Ascospore
Hyphae and conidia appear clear or colorless
Hyaline
Hyphae and conidia appear dark brown due to melanin production
Dematiaceous
Asexual form of a fungus
Anamorph
Sexual form of a fungus with structures like ascospores or cleistothecia
Teleomorph
Primary routine media for fungi
Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SAB)
Primary media for isolating Histoplasma and Blastomyces
Brain Heart Infusion Agar (BHI)
Primary media for recovering dermatophytes
Mycosel agar
What major difference is there between fungal and bacterial culture media?
Fungi use screw-cap tubes instead of plates to limit spore disseminations. Cap is kept semi-loose to allow them some O2.
Soap-like substance in media to differentiate yeast
Cornmeal Agar with Tween 80
Used to identify Cryptococcus neoformans. Turns deep brown to maroon if positive.
Niger Seed Agar (Birdseed Agar)
Used to stimulate sporulation of dermatophytes and pigment production
Potato Dextrose Agar
Media turns red if dermatophyte, can differentiate fungal infection from eczema
Dermatophyte Test Medium (i.e. Acuderm)
Urea Agar
helps differentiate several yeast and mold species
Fungal Culture growth conditions
30C for four weeks
Lactophenol cotton blue
Phenol kills fungi, cotton blue stains fruiting bodies and hyphae. Used for wet mount.
Modified Acid-Fast Stain
Used to ID Actinomycetes. Nocardia is positive. Uses a milder decolorizer than Acid Fast
10% KOH prep
Dissolves hair, nails, and skin, makes fungi more visible. Results are “yeast”, “mycelium”, or “none”.
India Ink Prep
Used to detect capsule of Cryptococcus neoformans, usually in CSF
Calcofluor white
Fluorescent stain that is taken up by chitin, requires fluorescent microscope
Macro: Rapid grower, bluish-green with white apron. Colorless reverse.
Micro: chains of spherical conidia on brush-like phialides
Penicillium
Macro: Rapid grower. Olive to pink or white. Off-white reverse.
Micro: Hyaline, septate, branched (spread out) conidiophores, chains of oval conidia
Paecilomyces
Macro: Rapid grower. Light brown and powdery (like cinnamon) with tan periphery. Tan reverse.
Micro: Large, thick-walled, round, spiny (echinulate)
Scopulariopsis
Macro: Rapid grower. White, yellow, rose, or gray. Yellow or pinkish reverse.
Micro: Think, delicate hyphae. Conidia in 1-2 cell clusters like sticky rice.
Acremonium
Macro: Rapid grower. Wooly, white to pink purple or brown. Light reverse.
Micro: Large canoe-shaped macroconidia AND small 1-2 cell clusters resembling sticky rice.
Fusarium