DESCRIPTIONS OF MEDICAL FUNGI

Descriptions of Medical Fungi 147
Paecilomyces variotii is a common environmental mould that is widespread in composts,
soils and food products. It is known from substrates including food, indoor air, wood,
soil and carpet dust.
RG-2 organism.
Paecilomyces variotii Bain
Morphological Description: Colonies are fast growing, powdery to suede-like,
funiculose or tufted, and yellow-brown or sand-coloured. Conidiophores bearing
dense, verticillately arranged branches bearing phialides. Phialides are cylindrical or
ellipsoidal, tapering abruptly into a long and cylindrical neck. Conidia are subspherical,
ellipsoidal to fusiform, hyaline to yellow, smooth-walled, 3-5 x 2-4 µm and are produced
in long divergent chains. Chlamydospores are usually present, singly or in short chains,
brown, subspherical to pyriform, 4-8 µm in diameter, thick-walled to slightly verrucose.
Key Features: Yellow-brown colony pigmentation, cylindrical phialides, and presence
of chlamydospores.
a
10 µm b 5 µm c 10 µm
Paecilomyces variotii (a) conidiophores, phialides, (b) conidia
and (c) terminal chlamydospores.
Antifungal Susceptibility: P. variotii (Australian National data); MIC µg/mL.
No. 64
AmB 17 7 3 4 2 1
VORI 17 1 2 1 12 1
POSA 17 5 3 2 5 2
ITRA 17 4 5 5 3