DESCRIPTIONS OF MEDICAL FUNGI

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Descriptions of Medical Fungi
Colletotrichum coccodes (Wallroth) S. Hughes
Over 500 Colletotrichum species have been reported. C. coccodes is a common soil
and plant pathogen widely distributed in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, and the
Americas. It has been reported from a case of human mycotic keratitis.
RG-1 organism.
Morphological Description: Colonies usually darkly pigmented with white aerial
mycelium, consisting of numerous black sclerotia and light brown-coloured conidial
masses, reverse is dark brown. Sclerotia are usually abundant, setose, spherical and
are often confluent. Conidia are straight, fusiform, attenuated at the ends, 16-22 x 3-4
µm. Appressoria are common, clavate, brown, 11-16.5 x 6-9.5 µm, variable in shape.
Molecular Identification: ITS and/or D1/D2 sequencing may be used for species
identification (Cano et al. 2004).
References: Domsch et al. (1980), McGinnis (1980), de Hoog et al. (2000, 2015).
a
b
50 μm
c
20 μm
d
10 μm
Colletotrichum coccodes (a) culture, (b) sclerotia with setae,
(c) conidia and (d) appressoria.