MICROORGANISMS IMPORTANT IN FOOD MICROBIOLOGY

A. MOLDS

General Characteristics:
- multicellular, filamentous fungi
- recognized by fussy or cottony appearance
- growth is commonly white but may be colored
- colored spores typical to matured molds

Importance:
- involved in spoilage
- useful in the manufacture of certain foods or food ingredients
- as food or feed
- employed to produce products used in foods
e.g. citric acid in soft drinks, amylase in breadmaking
- produce toxic metabolites

Morphological Characteristics
- useful in identification and classification

1. hypa and mycelium

hypae (plural) mass of branching intertwined filaments
a. submerged growing within the foods
b. aerial growing into the air above the foods; produces asexual spores
c. vegetative involved chiefly in the nutrition
d. fertile involved in the production of reproductive parts
e. septated with cross walls dividing hypa into cell; could be uninucleated or
multinucleated
f. non-septated no cross wall dividing the hypa; nuclei scattered throughout the
hypa; considered multicellular

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 mycelium whole mass of hypae
special mycelial features:
a. rhizoids
b. foot cell
c. stolon
d. y-shaped branching
2. reproductive parts or structures
- mode of reproduction is chiefly by means of asexual spores
A. Perfect molds can form both sexual and asexual spores
Teleomorph sexual or perfect state
Anamorph the imperfect or conidial state
Holomorph - indicates that both states are known
e.g. Oomycetes or Zygomycetes if nonseptated
Ascomycetes or Basiodiomycetes if septated
B. Imperfect molds only asexual spores are formed
e.g. Fungi Imperfecti typically septated
asexual spores produced in large number, small, light and resistant to drying
Types of asexual spores:
1. conidia (singular conidium) cut off or bud from hypae called coniphore
- not enclosed in any container; maybe smooth or rough

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2. sporangiospores spores produced within a sporangium sac at the tip of a fertile
hypae, sporangiophore

3. arthrospores or oidia (singular oidium) formed from fragmentation of hypae

4. chlamydospores a resting cell formed when a cell stores up reserve food

- swells and forms a thicker wall
- can withstand unfavorable conditions

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a. Sexual spores
1. oospores spores formed by Oomycetes (such as downy mildews
which cause blight of potatoes and buckeye rot of
tomatoes)
- formed by the union of small male gamete and large
female gamete

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 2. zygospores spores formed by Zygomycetes
- formed by the union of the tips of two hyphae from the same or
different mycelia
Note: both oospores and zygospores are covered by a tough wall and can survive
drying for longer period
3. ascospores formed by Ascomycetes
- formed after the union of two cells from the same
mycelium or from two different mycelia
- contained in an ascus with usually 8 spores/ascus

4. basidiospores formed by Basidiomycetes (e.g. mushrooms, plant

rusts, smuts)

Other morphological structures/characteristics of molds

1. sporangiophores may be simple or branched
2. columella the swollen tip of the sporangiophore, projects into the sporangium
3. conidia borne at different number, arrangement and complexity on the
conidiophore or spore heads
4. sterigma (plural sterigmata) or phialide

Cultural Characteristics
- often sufficient to indicate class or order
1. loose and fluffy or compact
2. velvety on the upper surface, dry and powdery, wet or gelatinous
3. size
4. pigments in the mycelium
5. pigments in the masses of asexual spores
6. appearance of the reverse side of a mold on an agar plate

Physiological Characteristics
1. moisture content requires less available moisture than most yeasts and

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 bacteria
2. temperature requirements most are mesophilic
- optimum for most is 25 30 C; for some is 35 -37 C
- some are psychrotrophic and few are thermophilic
3. oxygen and pH requirements molds are aerobic
- can grow over wide range of pH (2 8.5) but majority are
favored by acid pH
4. food requirements can utilized foods ranging from simple to complex
- molds possess a variety of hydrolytic enzymes
5. inhibitor certain chemical compounds are mycostatic (sorbates,
propionates, acetate) and others are fungicidal
- some molds produce inhibitory compounds against other
microorganisms e.g. penicillin from Penicillium chrysogenum
and clavacin from Aspergillus clavatus

Molds of Industrial Importance

1. Mucor a genus of about 40 species of molds commonly found in soil and on plant
surfaces, as well as in rotten vegetable matter
- typically white to beige or gray and fast-growing and may grow to several centimeters in
height
- upon aging, may become gray to brown in color due to the development of spores
- sporangiophores can be simple or branched and form globular sporangia that are
supported by columella
- can be differentiated from Absidia and Rhizopus by the shape and insertion of columella
and the lack of rhizoids
- some species produce chlamydospores
- some species help ripen cheeses (Gammelots) and used in making some Oriental foods
e.g. M. racemosus widely distributed species
M. rouxii used in the amylo process for the saccharification of
Starch

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2. Rhizopus includes cosmopolitan filamentous fungi found in soil, decaying fruit and
vegetables, animal feces, and old bread
- produce both asexual and sexual spores
- asexual sporangiospores are produced inside a pinhead-like sporangium, and are
genetically identical to their parent
- the sporangia are supported by large columella and the sporangiophores arise
among distinct rhizoids
- dark zygospores are produced after two compatible mycelia fuse during sexual
reproduction and may be genetically different from their parents
-some species are opportunistic pathogens that may cause serious and often fatal
infections both in humans and animals
e.g. R. stolonifer bread-mold, very common and involve in the spoilage of fruits
and vegetables and others
R. oligosporus used in the production of tempeh, a fermented food derived
from soybeans
R. oryzae used in the production of alcoholic beverages in parts of Asia and
Africa
3. Absidia similar to Rhizopus, except the sporangia are small and pear-shaped

4. Aspergillus - a filamentous, cosmopolitan and ubiquitous fungus found in nature

- commonly isolated from soil, plant debris, and indoor air environment
- highly aerobic
- common contaminants of starchy foods such as breads and potatoes
- grow in or on any plants and trees
- many species are capable of growing in nutrient-depleted environments
- some species can cause opportunistic infections, allergic states and toxicoses
- some species are important in commercial fermentations
e.g. a.) A.niger a leading species, widespread and important in foods
- has large spore-bearing heads, tightly packed, globular
- maybe black, brownish-brown, or purple-brown
- grow on damp walls, major component of mildew

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 - used for commercial production of citric; accounts for over 99%
of global citric acid production
-commonly used in the production of gluconic acid and native and foreign
enzymes like glucose oxidase and lyzozyme
b.) A. flavus conidia gives various yellow to green shades to spore heads
- aflatoxin producing-mold
c.) A. oryzae used to convert the starch in the saccharification of rice in the
production of Japanese sake
- known as koji mold in Japan

5. Penicillium - recognized by their dense brush-like spore-bearing structures

- conidiophores are simple or branched and are terminated by clusters of flask-
shaped phialides
- spores (conidia) are produced in dry chains from the tips of the phialides, with
the youngest spore at the base of the chain, and are nearly always green
- branching is an important feature for identifying Penicillium species
- a large and difficult genus encountered almost everywhere, and usually the most
abundant genus of fungi in soils
- some species produce toxins and may render food inedible or even dangerous
- some species of Penicillium are beneficial to humans
e.g. P. roqueforti with bluish-green conidia helps ripen blue cheese such as
Roquefort
P. camemberti with grayish conidia ripens Camembert
P. chrysogenum - a commonly occurring mould in most homes, produces the
drug penicillin

6. Geotrichum - a genus of fungi found worldwide in soil, water, air, and

sewage, as well as in plants, cereals, and dairy products
- commonly found in normal human flora and is isolated from sputum and feces
- maybe white, yellowish, orange or red
- growth appear first as firm, feltlike mass which later becomes soft and creamy

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 - produces arthrospores
- colonizer of intestinal tract; opportunistic pathogens- infectiion are usually
acquired via inhalation or ingestion
- can destroy aluminum and data-storing polycarbonate resin found in CDs
causing the disc to become partly transparent
e.g. G. candidum often called the dairy mold, gives white to cream-colored
growth in dairy products

7. Trichoderma found in nearly all soils; most prevalent culturable fungi

- grow fast at 25-30 C
- conidia typically forming within one week in compact or loose tufts of green,
yellow or white color, often formed in concentric rings
- conidiophores are highly branched (tree-like structure)
- secrete yellow pigment in PDA
- some species produce a characteristic sweet or coconut odor
- produces a wide array of enzymes
e.g. T. reesii is used for cellulase and hemicellulase
T. longibratum is used for xylanase
T. harzianum is used for chitinase
8. Cladosporium a dematiaceous (pigmented) mold widely distributed in air and rotten
organic material and frequently isolated as a contaminant on foods
- some species are predominant in tropical and sub-topical regions
- spores are extremely abundant in air, grow in moist surfaces
- most species do not grow at temp above 35 C
- some species are plant pathogens
- produces olive-green to brown or black colonies and its dark-pigmented conidia
are simple or branching chains
- do not produce major mycotoxins but produce volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) associated with odors
e.g C. fulvum cause of tomato leaf mold
- an important genetic model, in that the genetics of the host

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 resistance are understood

9. Alternaria appears as a velvety tuft with long soft hairs; its color ranges from dark
olive green to brown
- ubiquitous in the environment and are part of the fungal flora almost
everywhere
- spores are airborne and found in the soil and water, as well as indoors
- spores are club-shaped, in single or long chains
- known as major plant pathogens
- common allergens in humans, grow on skin and mucous membrane (eyeballs
and resp. tract)
- opportunistic pathogens
- normal agents of decay and decomposition
- prolific producers of a variety of toxic compounds
e.g. A. alternate causes upper resp. tract infections in AIDS patients, asthma in
people with sensitivity
- causes early blight of potato
A. arborescens causes stem canker of tomato
A. brassicae infest many vegetables and roses
A. citri causes rotting of citrus fruits

10. Fusarium - large genus of filamentous fungi widely distributed in soil and in association
with plants
- found in normal mycoflora of commodities, such as rice, bean, soybean, and
other crops
- most species are more common at tropical and subtropical
- some species produce mycotoxins in cereal crops that can affect human and
animal health if they enter the food chain
- fumonisins and trichothecenes are the main toxins produced
- characterize by colourless conidia, which are canoe-shaped in side view
- have distinct "foot cell" at the lower end, and are divided by several cross-walls

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 - conidiophores are often clustered and produce large pasty masses of spores from
tapered phialides
- microconidia and chlamydospores maybe formed
e.g. Fusarium oxysporum - also referred to as Agent Green
- causes fusarium wilt disease in more than a hundred
species of plants
11. Botrytis- long, slender, and often pigmented, septated conidiophores
- gray conidia are borne on apical cells; sometimes irregular, black sclerotia are
produced
e.g. Botrytis cinerea gray mold that is common in foods
- causes rots of grapes, apples, strawberries, blueberries,
citrus and some stone fruits.

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12. Monascus - belongs to the family Monascaceae and to the class Ascomyceta
- most important characteristic is the ability to produce secondary metabolites of
polyketidic structure
- some of the species are with strong yellow, orange or red pigmentation
e.g. M. purpureus red-pigmented mold
- is among the most important species because of its use in the
production of certain fermented foods in East Asia,
particularly China and Japan
- known by the names ang-khak rice mold, corn silage mold,
maize silage mold, and rice kernel discoloration

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- produce cholesterol-lowering statins

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