DESCRIPTIONS OF MEDICAL FUNGI

Descriptions of Medical Fungi 193
Trichoderma Persoon ex Grey
Trichoderma is a very common genus especially in soil and decaying wood. Gliocladium
(with strongly convergent phialides) and Verticillium (with straight and moderately
divergent phialides) are closely related genera. Trichoderma infections in humans
have been associated mostly with peritoneal dialysis, organ transplantation, and
haematologic disorders (Sandoval-Denis et al. 2014b).
Morphological Description: Colonies are fast growing, at first white and downy, later
developing yellowish-green to deep green compact tufts, often only in small areas
or in concentric ring-like zones on the agar surface. Conidiophores are repeatedly
branched, irregularly verticillate, bearing clusters of divergent, often irregularly bent,
flask-shaped phialides. Conidia are mostly green, sometimes hyaline, with smooth or
rough walls and are formed in slimy conidial heads (gloiospora) clustered at the tips of
the phialides. RG-1 organism.
Key Features: Hyphomycete with repeatedly branched conidiophores bearing clusters
of divergent, flask-shaped phialides.
Molecular Identification: Species identification is based on multilocus sequence data
using ITS, EF-1α, Chi18-5, and actin genes (Sandoval-Denis et al. 2014b).
References: Domsch et al. (1980), McGinnis (1980), Rippon (1988), Samson et al.
(1995), de Hoog et al. (2000, 2015), Sandoval-Denis et al. (2014b).
20 µm
Trichoderma harzianum species complex phialides and conidia.
Antifungal Susceptibility: Trichoderma spp.(Australian National data); MIC µg/mL.
No. 64
AmB 3 2 1
VORI 3 1 1 1
POSA 2 2
ITRA 3 2 1
Trichoderma spp. data from 73 isolates (Sandoval-Denis et al. 2014b); MIC µg/mL.
AmB Range 0.03-8; MIC 90
= 2 VORI Range 0.125-32; MIC 90
= 4
ITRA Range 1-32; MIC 90
= 32 POSA Range 1-32; MIC 90
= 32