There are over 100,000 species of fungi. Many fungi are good and useful (edible mushrooms would be an example of these) while some cause problems (some fungi can injure plants and humans). Every week the IEQ Review will describe a specific microorganism, its morphological origin and potential health effects. If you would like to know about a specific organism and/or would like it published in The IEQ Review please email Dr. Rajiv Sahay with the Environmental Diagnostics Laboratory (EDL) at Pure Air Control Services laboratory@pureaircontrols.com. This week we will cover ... 

Absidia spp.


 
Absidia spp. are filamentous fungi that are cosmopolitan and ubiquitous in nature as common environmental contaminants. They are found in plant debris and soil, as well as being isolated from foods and indoor air environment. They often cause food spoilage.
 
Since Absidia spp. are cosmopolitan and ubiquitous in nature, they are also common laboratory contaminants. Thus, their isolation in culture requires cautious evaluation. Nevertheless, the growth of Absidia, particularly from clinical samples of patients with immunosuppression or diabetes mellitus, should be regarded as potentially significant. Also, the visualization of typical hyphae of zygomycetes group of fungi on direct microscopic examination, of particularly a sterile body site, should be considered significant even if the culture yields no growth.
 
Absidia corymbifera grows rapidly. The rapid growing, flat, woolly to cottony, and olive gray colonies mature within 4 days. The diameter of the colony is 3-9 cm following incubation at 25°C for 7 days on potato glucose agar. The texture of the colony is typically woolly to cottony. From the surface, the colony is grey in color. The reverse side is uncolored and there is no pigment production.