DESCRIPTIONS OF MEDICAL FUNGI

Descriptions of Medical Fungi 101
The Fusarium solani complex contains at least 60 species and accounts for about 50%
of human infections caused by fusaria (Guarro 2013, Tortorano et al. 2014, Salah et al.
2015). All are ubiquitous soil borne pathogens responsible for vascular wilts, rots, and
damping-off diseases of a broad range of plants. A number of these fusaria, notably
F. keratoplasticum, F. petroliphilum, F. lichenicola and F. solani are clinically important,
causing localised or deeply invasive life threatening infections in humans and other
animals (Guarro 2013, O’Donnell et al. 2008).
RG-2 organisms.
Fusarium solani complex
Morphological Description: Colonies growing rapidly, 4.5 cm in four days, aerial
mycelium white to cream, becoming bluish-brown when sporodochia are present.
Macroconidia are formed after 4-7 days from short multiple branched conidiophores
which may form sporodochia. They are three to five-septate (usually three-septate),
fusiform, cylindrical, often moderately curved, with an indistinct pedicellate foot cell and
a short blunt apical cell, 28-42 x 4-6 µm. Microconidia are usually abundant, cylindrical
to oval, one to two-celled and formed from long lateral phialides, 8-16 x 2-4.5 µm.
Chlamydospores are hyaline, globose, smooth to rough-walled, borne singly or in pairs
on short lateral hyphal branches or intercalary, 6-10 µm.
a
15 µm
b
15 µm
c
15 µm
Fusarium solani complex (a) microconidia on long phialides,
(b) macroconidia and (c) chlamydospores.