Rhizopus stolonifer

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Rhizopus stolonifer
Rhizopus stolonifer4.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Mucoromycota
Order: Mucorales
Family: Mucoraceae
Genus: Rhizopus
Species:
R. stolonifer
Binomial name
Rhizopus stolonifer
Vuillemin (1902)
Synonyms
  • Rhizopus nigricansEhrenberg (1820)
  • Mucor stoloniferEhrenberg (1818)
  • Rhizopus artocarpi var. luxurians Schroet (1886)
  • Mucor niger Geodoelst (1902)
  • Rhizopus niger Ciaglinski & Hewelke (1893)

Rhizopus stolonifer is commonly known as black bread mold. [1] It is a member of Zygomycota and considered the most important species in the genus Rhizopus . [2] It is one of the most common fungi in the world and has a global distribution although it is most commonly found in tropical and subtropical regions. [3] It is a common agent of decomposition of stored foods. [4] Like other members of the genus Rhizopus, R. stolonifer grows rapidly, mostly in indoor environments. [5]

Contents

History

This fungus was first discovered by the German scientist Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg in 1818 as Rhizopus nigricans. The name was changed in 1902 to Rhizopus stolonifer by the French mycologist J. P. Vuillemin. [6]

Habitat and ecology

Rhizopus stolonifer has a cosmopolitan distribution and is found on all types of mouldy materials. It is often one of the first molds to appear on stale bread. [6] It can exist in the soil as well as in the air. A variety of natural substrata are colonized by this species because R. stolonifer can tolerate broad variations in the concentration of essential nutrients and can use carbon and nitrogen combined in diverse forms. [6]

In the laboratory, this fungus grows well on different media, including those that contain ammonium salts or amino compounds. [6] However, R. stolonifer will not grow on Czapek's agar because it cannot utilize nitrogen in the form of nitrate. [6] Rhizopus lives in hyphae and matured spores.

Growth and physiology

Gem-shaped sporangiospores of R. stolonifer showing characteristic striations. Rhizopus stolonifer2.jpg
Gem-shaped sporangiospores of R. stolonifer showing characteristic striations.

This species is known as a saprotroph and plays an important role in the early colonization of substrata in soil. Nonetheless, it can also behave as a parasite of plant tissues causing a rot of vegetables and fruits. [2] Like other species of Rhizopus, R. stolonifer grows rapidly and spreads by means of the stolons. [2] The stolons provide an aerial structure for the growth of the mycelium and the occupation of large areas. They can climb vertically as well as horizontally. [7] Rhizopus species periodically produce rhizoids, which anchor it to the substrate and unbranched aerial sporangiophores. [8] Sporangiophores of R. stolonifer can be up to 2.5 mm long and about 20 μm in diameter. [6] The spores are shaped differently depending on the available nutrients. They can be ovate, polygonal or angular. [6] The optimal temperature for growth varies between 25 and 30 °C. [7] The thermal death point, which is defined as the lowest temperature that can kill all cells in ten minutes, is 60 °C. [7] Rhizopus stolonifer can grow in acidic environments with a pH of as low as 2.2. The pH range can vary from 2.2 to 9.6. [9] Ultraviolet irradiation can delay spore germination. [10]

Reproduction

Rhizopus stolonifer can reproduce asexually and sexually. It is a heterothallic species. [3] Sexual reproduction occurs when compatible mating strains are paired, ultimately giving rise to zygospores. The sporangiophore contains both '+' and '−' mating type strains. [11] Meiosis is delayed until the germination of the zygospores. The gametogenia often differ in size, regardless of mating type. This difference in size is not due to sex but presumably due to nutrition. [12]

Disease and prevention

R. stolonifer colonizing a strawberry. Rhizopus stolonifer on a strawberry showing black sporangia.jpg
R. stolonifer colonizing a strawberry.

The disease caused by this fungus occurs mainly on ripe fruits, such as strawberries, melon and peach, which are more susceptible to wounds and have a higher sugar content. [13] R. stolonifer can also cause soft rot of many vegetables, flowers, bulbs, corms, and seeds. [14] After a couple of days, the infected fruits become soft and release juices with an acidic odour. [13] When the humidity and temperature are favourable, the mycelial growth occurs rapidly at the surface of the infected fruit and the disease causes the development of long mycelial stolons with black sporangia and spores. [13] When the fungus germinates, it produces different kinds of esterases, including cutinase, which help the fungus to penetrate the plant cell wall. [13] The disease can also affect other adjacent healthy fruits when distributed by wind or insect activity. [4]

Some species of Syncephalis can reduce the asexual reproduction of R. stolonifer and therefore may delay or even prevent the post-harvest disease caused by this fungus. [15] Fengycin, which is an anti-fungal complex, also induces the fungal cell death via necrosis and apoptosis. [16] The treatment of sweet potatoes with sodium orthophenyl phenol (Stopmold B) and dichloran (Botran W) have effectively reduced storage rot. [17]

Rhizopus stolonifer is an opportunistic agent of disease and hence will only cause infection in people with a weakened immunity. Zygomycosis is the main disease that might be caused by this fungus in humans and while it is not entirely understood yet, this disease is very dangerous and can be fatal. [11] More commonly, Rhizopus stolonifer may cause respiratory infections, sinusitis, and otomycosis. [18] The action of smelling spoiled food may be a source of inhalation exposure to the mold. [11]

Importance

Rhizopus stolonifer is important economically as an agent of post-harvest storage decay.

While Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the most important source of industrial alcohol, R. stolonifer and other species of Rhizopus also produce ethyl alcohol which is the most important fermentation product. [4] Rhizopus stolonifer is also used commercially to manufacture fumaric acid and lactic acid of high purity. [19] The presence of zinc reduces the amount of fumaric acid produced by the fungus. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mold</span> Wooly, dust-like fungal structure or substance

A mold or mould is one of the structures that certain fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of spores containing fungal secondary metabolites. The spores are the dispersal units of the fungi. Not all fungi form molds. Some fungi form mushrooms; others grow as single cells and are called microfungi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zygomycota</span> Division or phylum of the kingdom Fungi

Zygomycota, or zygote fungi, is a former division or phylum of the kingdom Fungi. The members are now part of two phyla: the Mucoromycota and Zoopagomycota. Approximately 1060 species are known. They are mostly terrestrial in habitat, living in soil or on decaying plant or animal material. Some are parasites of plants, insects, and small animals, while others form symbiotic relationships with plants. Zygomycete hyphae may be coenocytic, forming septa only where gametes are formed or to wall off dead hyphae. Zygomycota is no longer recognised as it was not believed to be truly monophyletic.

<i>Rhizopus</i> Genus of fungi

Rhizopus is a genus of common saprophytic fungi on plants and specialized parasites on animals. They are found in a wide variety of organic substances, including "mature fruits and vegetables", jellies, syrups, leather, bread, peanuts, and tobacco. They are multicellular. Some Rhizopus species are opportunistic human pathogens that often cause fatal disease called mucormycosis. This widespread genus includes at least eight species.

<i>Rhizopus oligosporus</i> Species of fungus

Rhizopus oligosporus is a fungus of the family Mucoraceae and is a widely used starter culture for the production of tempeh at home and industrially. As the mold grows it produces fluffy, white mycelia, binding the beans together to create an edible "cake" of partly catabolized soybeans. The domestication of the microbe is thought to have occurred in Indonesia several centuries ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mucorales</span> Order of fungi

The Mucorales is the largest and best-studied order of zygomycete fungi. Members of this order are sometimes called pin molds. The term mucormycosis is now preferred for infections caused by molds belonging to the order Mucorales.

<i>Mucor</i> Genus of fungi

Mucor is a microbial genus of approximately 40 species of molds in the family Mucoraceae. Species are commonly found in soil, digestive systems, plant surfaces, some cheeses like Tomme de Savoie, rotten vegetable matter and iron oxide residue in the biosorption process.

Rhizopus arrhizus is a fungus of the family Mucoraceae, characterized by sporangiophores that arise from nodes at the point where the rhizoids are formed and by a hemispherical columella. It is the most common cause of mucormycosis in humans and occasionally infects other animals.

<i>Mucor mucedo</i> Species of fungus

Mucor mucedo, commonly known as the common pinmould, is a fungal plant pathogen and member of the phylum Mucoromycota and the genus Mucor. Commonly found on soil, dung, water, plants and moist foods, Mucor mucedo is a saprotrophic fungus found world-wide with 85 known strains. It is often mistaken for Rhizopus rots on fruits due to similar mould growth shape and colour. Contrastingly, however, Mucor mucedo is found to grow on a wide range of stored grains and plants, including cucumber and tomato. Discovered in Italy in 1729 by P.A. Micheli and later noted by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 in the Species Plantarum, Mucor mucedo was originally classified as Mucor vulgaris by Micheli but later classified synonymous under name Mucor mucedo. The species was redescribed as Ascophora mucedo by H.J. Tode in 1790 but this type resided in a stoloniferous habitat and was later made the type of new genus Rhizopus.

<i>Rhizopus microsporus</i> Species of fungus

Rhizopus microsporus is a fungal plant pathogen infecting maize, sunflower, and rice.

Monilinia fructigena is a plant pathogen in the fungus kingdom causing a fruit rot of apples, pears, plums, peaches and cherries.

Rhizopus soft rot is a disease of the sweet potato. It is one of the most common to affect the sweet potato, happening during packing and shipping. The disease causes a watery soft rot of the internal portion of the storage root. Strategies to manage the disease include the development of resistant varieties, curing through the use of heat and humidity, and application of decay control products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilobolaceae</span> Family of fungi

The Pilobolaceae are a family of fungi in the Mucorales order. Generally, species in this family have a widespread distribution, although there are some that are restricted to tropical and subtropical regions. This family includes two genera: Pilobolus, and Utharomyces.

<i>Conidiobolus coronatus</i> Species of fungus

Conidiobolus coronatus is a saprotrophic fungus, first described by Costantin in 1897 as Boudierella coronata. Though this fungus has also been known by the name Entomophthora coronata, the correct name is Conidiobolus coronatus. C. coronatus is able to infect humans and animals, and the first human infection with C. coronatus was reported in Jamaica in 1965.

<i>Spinellus fusiger</i> Species of fungus

Spinellus fusiger, commonly known as bonnet mold, is a species of fungus in the phylum Zygomycota. It is a pin mold that is characterized by erect sporangiophores that are simple in structure, brown or yellowish-brown in color, and with branched aerial filaments that bear the zygospores. It grows as a parasitic mold on mushrooms, including several species from the genera Mycena, including M. haematopus, M. pura, M. epipterygia, M. leptocephala, and various Collybia species, such as C. alkalivirens, C. luteifolia, C. dryophila, and C. butyracea. It has also been found growing on agaric species in Amanita, Gymnopus, and Hygrophorus.

<i>Lichtheimia corymbifera</i> Species of fungus

Lichtheimia corymbifera is a thermophilic fungus in the phylum Zygomycota. It normally lives as a saprotrophic mold, but can also be an opportunistic pathogen known to cause pulmonary, CNS, rhinocerebral, or cutaneous infections in animals and humans with impaired immunity.

<i>Penicillium digitatum</i> Species of fungus

Penicillium digitatum is a mesophilic fungus found in the soil of citrus-producing areas. It is a major source of post-harvest decay in fruits and is responsible for the widespread post-harvest disease in Citrus fruit known as green rot or green mould. In nature, this necrotrophic wound pathogen grows in filaments and reproduces asexually through the production of conidiophores and conidia. However, P. digitatum can also be cultivated in the laboratory setting. Alongside its pathogenic life cycle, P. digitatum is also involved in other human, animal and plant interactions and is currently being used in the production of immunologically based mycological detection assays for the food industry.

Cunninghamella bertholletiae is a species of zygomycetous fungi in the order Mucorales. It is found globally, with increased prevalence in Mediterranean and subtropical climates. It typically grows as a saprotroph and is found in a wide variety of substrates, including soil, fruits, vegetables, nuts, crops, and human and animal waste. Although infections are still rare, C. betholletiae is emerging as an opportunistic human pathogen, predominantly in immunocompromised people, leukemia patients, and people with uncontrolled diabetes. Cunninghamella bertholletiae infections are often highly invasive, and can be more difficult to treat with antifungal drugs than infections with other species of the Mucorales, making prompt and accurate recognition and diagnosis of mycoses caused by this fungus an important medical concern.

<i>Rhizopus oryzae</i> Species of fungus

Rhizopus oryzae is a filamentous heterothallic microfungus that occurs as a saprotroph in soil, dung, and rotting vegetation. This species is very similar to Rhizopus stolonifer, but it can be distinguished by its smaller sporangia and air-dispersed sporangiospores. It differs from R. oligosporus and R. microsporus by its larger columellae and sporangiospores. The many strains of R. oryzae produce a wide range of enzymes such as carbohydrate digesting enzymes and polymers along with a number of organic acids, ethanol and esters giving it useful properties within the food industries, bio-diesel production, and pharmaceutical industries. It is also an opportunistic pathogen of humans causing mucormycosis.

<i>Cunninghamella echinulata</i> Species of fungus

Cunninghamella echinulata is a fungal species in the genus Cunninghamella. It is an asexually reproducing fungus and a mesophile, preferring intermediate temperature ranges. C. echinulata is a common air contaminant, and is currently of interest to the biotechnology industry due to its ability to synthesize γ-linolenic acid as well as its capacity to bioconcentrate metals. This species is a soil saprotroph that forms rhizoids, preferring soils enriched in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. It has been reported occasionally an agent of mucormycosis following the inhalation of fungal spores. Czapek's agar is a suitable growth medium for the propagation of C. echinulata.

<i>Mortierella polycephala</i> Species of fungus

Mortierella polycephala is a saprotrophic fungus with a wide geographical distribution occurring in many different habitats from soil and plants to salt marshes and slate slopes. It is the type species of the genus Mortierella, and was first described in 1863 by Henri Coemans. A characteristic feature of the fungus is the presence of stylospores, which are aerial, spiny resting spores (chlamydospores).

References

  1. ↑ Ellis, D. "Fungal Descriptions and Antifungal Susceptibility".
  2. 1 2 3 Webster, John; Weber, Roland (2007). Introduction to fungi (3rd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge university press. ISBN   978-0-511-27783-2.
  3. 1 2 Moore-Landecker, E. (1972). Fundamentals of the Fungi . New Jersey: Prentice Hall. ISBN   0133392678.
  4. 1 2 3 Alexopoulos, C.J. (1952). Introductory mycology (2nd ed.). London, UK: Academic Press. ISBN   9780122204029.
  5. ↑ Benny, G.L.; Smith, M.E.; Kirk, p.m.; Tretter, E.D; White, M.M. (2016). "Challenges and Future Perspectives in the Systematics of Kickxellomycotina, Mortierellomycotina, Mucoromycotina, and Zoopagomycotina". Biology of Microfungi.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Onions, A.H.S.; Allsopp, D.; Eggins, H.O.W. (1981). Smith's introduction to industrial mycology (7th ed.). London, UK: Arnold. ISBN   0-7131-2811-9.
  7. 1 2 3 Vanbreuseghem, R.; Langeron, M. (1965). Outline of mycology (2nd ed.). Pitman publishing. ISBN   0273417207.
  8. ↑ "Home - Rhizopus stolonifer NRRL 66455 v1.0". mycocosm.jgi.doe.gov. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  9. ↑ Skinner, C. (1930). Molds, Yeasts and Actinomycetes. John Wiley and Sons. ASIN   B002A1J300.
  10. 1 2 Ainsworth, G.C.; Sussman, A.S. (1965). The Fungi An Advanced Treatise. Vol. 1. Academic Press. ASIN   B002M3UZVM.
  11. 1 2 3 Brown, Ryan. "Mold: a study of common fungi" (PDF).
  12. ↑ Gwynne-Vaughan, H.C.I.; Barnes, B. (1927). structure and development of the fungi . Cambridge: The university press.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Baggio, J.S.; Goncalves, F.P.; Lourenco, S.A.; Tanaka, A.O.; Pascholati, S.F.; Amorim, L. (2016). "Direct penetration of Rhizopus stolonifer into stone fruits causing rhizopus rot". Plant Pathology.
  14. ↑ Scheck, Heather (2020-09-29). "Rhizopus stolonifer (Ehrenb.: Fr.) Vuill. 1902 Bulb rot". Pest Rating Proposals and Final Ratings. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  15. ↑ Baker, KL; Beneke, ES; Hooper, GR; Fields, WG (1977). "Host Range and Axenic Culture of the Mycoparasite Syncephalis sphaerica (Mucorales)". Mycologia. 69 (5): 1008–1015. doi:10.1080/00275514.1977.12020152.
  16. ↑ Tang, Q.; Bie, X.; Lu, Z.; Lv, F.; Tao, Y.; Qu, X. (2014). "Effects of Fengycin from Bacillus subtilis fmbJ on Apoptosis and Necrosis in Rhizopus stolonifer". Journal of Microbiology. 2.
  17. ↑ Sarbhoy, AK (1966). "Rhizopus stolonifer". CMI Descriptions of Pathogenic Fungi and Bacteria. 110: 1–2.
  18. ↑ Maness, Lisa R; Zubov, Tanya (2019-01-28). "The Inhibitory Effect of Essential Oils onRhizopus stolonifer, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, andMicrosporum gypseum". Laboratory Medicine. 50 (2): e18–e22. doi:10.1093/labmed/lmy080. ISSN   0007-5027. PMC   6452308 . PMID   30690523.
  19. ↑ Campbell, C.K.; Johnson, E.M.; Warnock, D.W. (2013). Identification of pathogenic fungi. New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell. ASIN   B0000CIFGO.
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