MICROBIOLOGY LECTURE M1 – Generalities, Principles and - forms most of the visible part of the colony

Proper Collection of Specimens 3. Fertile or reproductive mycelia

Notes from Murray (97) and Fisher (98) - from which the reproductive structures arise
USTMED ’07 Sec C – AsM

MYCOLOGY = is the study of fungi!!!

• fungi reside in nature and are essential in breaking down

and recycling organic matter (a saprobe – organism that
brings about decay)
• used in production of food and spirits
• in medicine, they provide useful bioactive secondary
metabolites such as antibiotics and immunosuppressive
drugs
• used in model systems for the investigation of a variety
of eukaryotic processes
• are phytopathogens that cause huge agricultural losses MACROSCOPIC EXAMINATION
(major pathogens of plants)
• only a few hundred species of fungi have been • Colony texture (the way the colony looks)
implicated in human disease
• 90% of human infections can be attributed to a few a. Glabrous
dozen fungi  leathery or waxy
 little if any aerial mycelium
b. velvety
FUNGI
 resembles plush or velvet fabric or
suede
• a group of nonmotile eukaryotic organisms that have
 have short aerial hyphae, few
definite cell walls, devoid of chlorophyll and reproduce
conidia or sopres
by means of spores (or conidia)
c. yeastlike
• each fungal cell has at least one nucleus and nuclear
 resembles colonies of coagulase-
membrane, ER, mitochondria and secretory apparatus
negative staphylococci
• cell walls contain chitin or cellulose, or both
 “bacteria like”
• are heterotrophs – uses many different organic  yeasts appear dryer and duller
compounds as nutrients  no aerial mycelia
• are obligate or facultative aerobes d. cottony
• are chemotrophic, secreting enzymes that degrade a  develop when colonies produce long
aerial hyphae
wide variety of organic substrates into soluble nutrients,
e. granular
which are then passively absorbed or taken into the cell
 fungi that conidiate or sporulate
by active transport
heavily
• often reside on body surfaces as transient environmental
colonizers but obtain no obvious benefit
• Colony topography (the way the colony surface is
arragned)
DEFINITIONS a. Flat

• hyphae – long strand of cells with or without crosswalls

(septa) ; filamentous tubular structures which grow by
elongation at the tips or by branching
• septa – crosswalls; hyphae may be septate or aseptate

b. Folded

c. Rugose

d. Crateriform
• mycelium – masses of hyphae which comprises the
colony of the fungus (also called thallus)
• yeasts – single round to oval cell that usually buds to
form daughter cells; unicellular form
• thermally dimorphic fungi – develop mould-form
colonies at RT and another form at human body
temperature e. Cerebriform
• Conidium – refers to any reproductive structure
• moulds – fungi that form hyphae (as opposed to yeast)
• Mycosis (mycoses) are any disease caused by a fungus

3 types of mycelia (generally cannot be distinguished from one another)

1. Vegetative mycelia
- grow in or on the medium f. Verrucose
- absorbs nutrients from the medium
2. Aerial
- grow above the surface of the agar

MYCOTOXICOSES
• fungi are metabolically versatile organisms and sources
of innumerable secondary metabolites such as alkaloids
and other toxic compounds
• mycotoxicoses are most often the result of the
accidental or recreational ingestion of fungi that
produce these compounds
• source of toxin is determined by obtaining the history of
the patient
• when fungi are ingested, emesis (vomiting) should be
induced, and supportive measures should be instituted
consistent with the physiological signs exhibited by the
patient
1. Ergot Alkaloids
- produced when grain is infected with Claviceps
purpurea
- history of epidemics (St. Anthony’s fire) –
associated with consumption of bread and other
bakery products made with contaminated rye
- symptoms
o inflammation of the infected tissues
(cellular response to injury)
o necrosis (cell death)
o gangrene (death of large masses of
tissue)
- pharmacologically – they produce alpha-adrenergic
blockade, w/c inhibits responses to epinephrine
and 5-hydroxytryptamine
o create marked peripheral
vasoconstriction
 restricts blood flow
 necrosis and gangrene
- directly stimulates smooth muscle contraction
- used as oxytocic agents to induce labor (increases
force and frequency of uterine contractions)
- affects CNS by stimulating the hypothalamus and
other sympathetic portions of MB
2. Psychotrophic Agents
- used by primitive tribes
- recreation use of agents such as psilocybin and
psilocin as well as the semisynthetic derivative,
lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)
3. Aflatoxins
- contamination with Aspergillus flavus
- resulted in outbreak of Turkey X disease in England
- Turkey developed symptoms:
o Lethargy
o Anorexia
o Muscle weakness
o Spasms
o Eventually death
- postmortem studies revealed gross hemorrhage and
necrosis of the liver
- histophath = parenchymal cell degeneration and
extensive proliferation of the bile duct epithelial
cells
- etiological agents were A. flavus toxins that are
bisfuranocoumarin metabolites
- are potent carcinogens but have not been shown to
play specific role in human carcinogenesis
4. Others
- yellow rice toxicosis (Japan)
- alimentary toxic aleukia (Soviet Union)
HYPERSENSITIVITY DISEASES
• to measure degree of air pollution, fungal spore counts
are conducted because they are ubiquitous in nature
• airborne spores and other fungal elements can be an
antigenic stimulus and may induce (depending on an
individual’s immunological status), hypersensitivity from
the production of immunoglobulins or sensitized
lymphocytes
• clinical manifestation of hypersensitive pneumonitis:
o rhinitis
o bronchial asthma
o alveolitis
o forms of atopy
• growth of the fungus in the tissues is not required for
the development of hypersensitivity; clinical
manifestations are seen only in sensitized persons, after
subsequent exposure to the fungus, its metabolites, or
other cross-reactive materials
FUNGAL INFECTIONS
• most pathogenic fungi are exogenous
• natural habitats
o water
o soil
o organic debris
• Candidiasis and dermatophytosis (mycoses with the
highest incidence) are caused by fungi that are part of
the normal microbial flora or highly adapted to survival
on the human host
• Mycoses may be classified as: (refer to table1)
o Superficial
o Cutaneous
o Subcutaneous
o Systemic
o Opportunistic
• categories reflects their usual portal of entry and initial
site of involvement
• overlaps do occur, since systemic mycoses can have
subcutaneous manifestations and vice versa
• patients who develop opportunistic infections have
serious underlying diseases and compromised host
defenses
• during infections, most patients develop significant
cellular and humural immune responses to the fungal
antigens
COLONIZATION AND DISEASES
• in general people have a high level of innate immunity
to fungi
• most fungal infections are mild and self-limiting
• skin – primary barrier to any infection caused by fungi
that primarily colonize the superficial, cutaneous and
subcutaneous layers of skin
• mucosal surfaces – discourage colonization by organisms
that cause pulmonary infections
• Fatty acid content, pH, epithelial turnover and normal
bacterial flora of the skin contribute to host resistance
• Transferrin (humoral factors) – restrict the growth of
several fungi by limiting the amount of available iron
• Some fungi have gained significance with their
association with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
o Result of low pathogenic potential
o Produce disease only under unusual
circumstances involving host debilitation
• Some circumstances that lead to infection by once
innocuous saprobes are:
o Change in normal intestinal flora (use of
broad-spectrum drugs)
o Debilitation of the host by the use of
therapeutic measures (cytotoxins, xray,
steroids)
o Alteration of host’s immune system by
underlying endocrine disorders (DM)
GENERAL PROPERTIES AND CLASSIFICATION OF FUNGI
Fungi grow in 2 basic forms:
1. yeasts
- unicellular, spherical to ellipsoid fungal cells that
usually reproduce by budding
- some species produce buds that characteristically
fail to detach and become elongated
o continuation of the budding process then
produces a chain of elongated yeast cells
called pseudohyphae
- colonies are usually soft, opaque and cream-
colored
- yeast species are identified on the basis of
physiologic tests and few key morphologic
differences
- some species of fungi are dimorphic and are
capable of growth as yeast or mold depending on
 environmental conditions o readily dispersed
o more resistant to adverse conditions
2. molds o can germinate when conditions of growth are
- growth is by production of multicellular favorable
filamentous colonies o can be derived from asexual (anamorphic
- colonies consist of branching cylindric tubules state) or sexual (teleomorphic state)
called hyphae reproduction
- the mass of intertwined hyphae that accumulates • Asexual spores
during active growth is a mycelium o Are mitotic progeny (ie. Mitospores)
- some hyphae are divided into cells by cross-walls o Genetically identical
called septa, forming at regular intervals during o Fungi produce 2 major types of asexual spores
hyphal growth  Conidia
- substrate hyphae – hyphae that penetrate the  Sporangiospores (zygomycetes)
supporting medium and absorb nutrients • Features include
- aerial hypahe – project above the surface of the o Ontogeny
mycelium and usually bear the reproductive  Conidiogenic structures
structures of the mold o Morphology
- molds produce colonies with characteristic features
 Size
such as rates of growth, texture, and pigmentation
 Shape
- the genus of most clinical molds can be determined
by microscopic examination of the ontogeny and  Texture
morphology of their asexual reproductive spores, or  Color
conidia  Uni or multicellularity
• vegetative cells may transform into conidia (eg.
TYPES OF SEXUAL REPRODUCTION Arthroconidia, chlamydospores)
• conidia are sometimes produced by conidiogenous cell
1. a single zygosporangium containing zygospore is
such as a phialide, which itself may be attached to a
produced by mating of two compatible hyphal branches
specialized hypha called a conidiophore
2. multiple basidiospores form on denticles at the tips of
the club-shaped basidia within a basidium • In zygomycetes, sporangiospores result from mitotic
3. Ascospores form w/in asci inside the protective ascocarp replication and spore production w/in a sac-like
(a perithecium is shown) structure called a sporangium, which is supported by a
sporangiophore

TAXONOMIC CLASSFIICATION (refer to table1)

• based on the mechanism and spores that result from

sexual reproduction (involves mating, nuclear fusion,
meiosis, and the exchange of genetic information)
• a species may be recognized and defined on the basis of
its asexual state, but its telemorph, or sexual identity,
may have a different name

GROWTH AND ISOLATION OF FUNGI

• most fungi occur in nature and grow readily on simple

sources of nitrogen and carbohydrate
• Traditionally, Sabouraud’s agar (contains glucose and
modified peptone pH7.0) has been used because it does
not readily support the growth of bacteria
o Used to exhibit morphologic characteristics of
fungi
• Inhibitory mold agar – used to recover fungi from clinical
specimens
• Antibiotics (gentamicin, chloramphenicol) and
cycloheximide are added to media to inhibt bacteria and
saprophytic molds respectively in recovery of fungi from
clinical specimens

FUNGAL CELL WALL MEDICAL CATEGORIES OF FUNGAL IMPORTANCE

• are rigid and determines the shape of the fungi 1. Mycotoxicoses

2. Hypersensitivity diseases
• cell walls are composed:
3. Colonization of the host and resultant disease
o largely of carbohydrate layers
o long chains of polysaccharides TABLE 1 MAJOR TAXONOMIC GROUPS
o glycoproteins
o lipids
• during infection GROUP CHARACTERISTICS EXAMPLE
o surface components of the cell wall mediate Zygomycetes Sexual reproduction results Rhizopus
attachment of the fungus to host cells in a zygospore
o cell wall polysaccharides may activate the Absidia
complement cascade and provoke an Asexual reproduction occurs
inflammatory response via sporangia Mucor
 are poorly detected by the host and
can be detected by special stains Vegetative hyphae are Pilobolus
o release immunodominant antigens that may sparsely septate
elicit cellular immune responses and Ascomycetes Sexual reproduction Ajellomyces
diagnostic antibodies involves a sac or ascus in (anamorphic
which karyogamy and genera,
• dematiaceous fungi – yeasts or molds that have meiosis occur producing blastomyces,
melanized cell walls, imparting a brown or black ascospores histoplasma)
pigment
Asexual reproduction is via Arthroderma
SPORES conidia (anamorphic
genera,
• chances of survival are increased when fungi produce
Molds have septate hyphae microsporum,
spores trichophyton)
• characteristics:
 Yeast genera
(saccharomyces)
Basidiomycetes Sexual reproduction results Mushrooms
in four progeny
basidiospores supported by Filobasidiella
a club-shaped basidium neoformans
(anamorph,
Hyphae have complex septa Crytococcus
neoformans)
Deuteromycetes An artificial grouping of the Coccidioides
imperfect fungi for which a immitis
teleomorph or sexual
reproduction has not been Paracoccidioide
discovered s brasiliensis

Anamorphic state is Candida

characterized by asexual albicans
conidia

TABLE 2 MAJOR MYCOSES AND CAUSATIVE FUNGI

MODE OF ACTION OF ANTIFUNGAL DRUGS

TYPE OF CAUSATIVE FUNGAL MYCOSIS

MYCOSES AGENTS
Superficial Malassezia furfur Pityriasis versicolor

infections Hortaea weneckii Tinea nigra

limited to the
outermost Trichosporon species White piedra
“dead” layers
of skin and Peidraia hortae Black piedra
hair
Cutaneous Microsporum species, Dermatophytosis
trchophyton species,
Infections and Epidermophyton
that extend floccosum
deeper into
the epidermis Candida albicans and Candidiasis of skin,
as well as other candida species mucosa, or nails
invasive hair
and nail
disease
(keratinized
portions)
Subcutaneous Sporothrix schenckii Sporotrichosis

Infections Phialophora Chromoblastomycosis

involving the verrucosa, Fonsecaea
dermis, pedrosoi, others
subcutaneous
tissues, Pseudallescheria Mycetoma
muscles and boydii, Madurella
fascia mycetomatis, others

Exophiala, bipolaris, Phaeohyphomycosis

exserohilum, and
others
Endemic Coccidioides immitis Coccidioidomycosis
(primary,
systemic) Histoplasma Histoplasmosis
capsulatum A/N: guys, gawa ko lang ‘to. Kasi walang available na slides or pictures from
Infections the lecture. Of course, I was too busy dozing off to actually listen to the
lecture kaya I had no idea what to put in this handout. I think I placed too
that originate Blastomycoses Blastomycosis much information… oh well, mabuti na kaysa bitin!
primarily in dermatitidis
the lung but This is my Last lecture transcription for SY 2004-2005…
may spread to Paracoccidioides Paracoccidioidomycosis
many organ brasiliensis Sorry for the lack of availability of the files, slow circulation,
systems dozens and dozens of typographical errors, grammatical errors,
(lymphatic, blurred pics, and wrong information… tao lang po!
circulatory)
Opportunistic Candida albicans and Systemic candidiasis Thanks to all the people who helped me in the transcriptions…
other candida species marc ostrea, jayveeh Navarro, Luver Lei Manzon, Kat Manibog, Ate
Infections Mea Mendoza, Pons, Anne and Boom. (Thanks also to the profs and
caused by Cryptococcus Crytococcosis doctors for their hardwork in preparing the slides! Siyempre kung
fungi that neoformans wala silang lecture, wala ring trans!)
infect
because of Aspergillus fumigatus Aspergillosis For the support – Roxy, cocoy, c3 and section C! *BIG HUG*
compromising and other aspergillus
situations species Section A, B and D – thanks for the powerpoints!
Species of rhizopus, Mucormycosis Lastly I’d like to share this with the batch… It’s what I always
absidia, mucor, and (zygomycosis) (well, not really always…hehe!) tell myself pag tinotopak ako and
other zygomycetes pag gusto ko na mag-quit…it’s just a short prayer, super daling i-
memorize! 
Penicillium marneffei Penicilliosis
“Give me grace, O my Father, to persevere in the work to which
you have called me, neither leaving it half-done nor giving up
when the first enthusiasm has faded and other interests attract.”
…yun lang… MORE POWER TO USTMED BATCH 2007!!!

- Auds Martinez -

audsmartinez@gmail.com
ustmedc3@yahoogroups.com