Title: Trichophyton

{{Short description|Genus of Fungi}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Trichophyton_rubrum_var_rodhaini.jpg
| image_caption = ''Trichophyton rubrum''
| taxon = Trichophyton
| authority = Malmsten
}}

'''''Trichophyton''''' is a [[genus]] of [[fungus]], which includes the [[parasitic]] varieties that cause [[tinea]], including [[athlete's foot]], [[ringworm]], [[jock itch]], and similar  infections of the nail, beard, skin and scalp. Trichophyton fungi are [[Mold (fungus)|mold]]s characterized by the development of both smooth-walled macro- and [[microconidia]]. [[conidia|Macroconidia]] are mostly borne laterally directly on the hyphae or on short pedicels, and are thin- or thick-walled, [[glossary of botanical terms#C|clavate]] to [[wikt:fusiform|fusiform]], and range from 4 to 8 by 8 to 50 [[micrometre|μm]] in size. Macroconidia are few or absent in many species. Microconidia are spherical, pyriform to clavate or of irregular shape, and range from 2 to 3 by 2 to 4 μm in size.

==Species and their habitat preference==
According to current classification, the genus includes anthropophilic and zoophilic species.&lt;ref name=deHoog2017/&gt; [[Anthropophilic]] fungi prefer to infect humans. [[Zoophilic]] fungi prefer to infect animals other than humans. Humans and other animals are [[natural reservoir]]s for parasitic or [[dermatophytic|dermatophytic fungi]].&lt;ref&gt;{{cite journal |last1=Plangsiri |first1=Settanan |last2=Arenas |first2=Roberto |last3=Rattananukrom |first3=Teerapong |title=Zoonotic and Anthropophilic Trichophyton mentagrophytes Complex Infection in Human: An Update and Narrative Review |journal=Mycoses |date=June 2025 |volume=68 |issue=6 |doi=10.1111/myc.70082}}&lt;/ref&gt;

{| class=&quot;wikitable sortable&quot; | Some species and their habitat preference
|-
! Name
! Botanical author
! Environment
|-
|''[[Trichophyton benhamiae]]''
|{{Au|(Ajello &amp; S.L. Cheng) Y. Gräser &amp; de Hoog (2018)}}
|[[wikt:zoophilic|zoophilic]]
|-
|''[[Trichophyton bullosum]]''
|{{Au|Lebasque (1933)}}
|[[wikt:zoophilic|zoophilic]]
|-
|''[[Trichophyton concentricum]]'' 
|{{Au|R. Blanch. (1895)}}
|[[anthropophilic]] 
|-
|''[[Trichophyton equinum]]''
|{{Au|Gedoelst (1902)}}
|[[wikt:zoophilic|zoophilic]] (horse)
|-
|''[[Trichophyton erinacei]]'' 
|{{Au|(J.M.B. Smith &amp; Marples) Quaife (1966)}}
|[[wikt:zoophilic|zoophilic]] (hedgehog)
|-
|''[[Trichophyton eriotrephon]]''
|{{Au|Papeg. (1925)}}
|
|- 
|''[[Trichophyton mentagrophytes]]''
|{{Au|(C.P. Robin) Sabour. (1895)}}
|[[wikt:zoophilic|zoophilic]] (hedgehog)
|-
|''[[Trichophyton quinckeanum]]'' 
|{{Au|(Zopf ex Guég.) D.M. MacLeod &amp; Muende (1940)}}
|[[wikt:zoophilic|zoophilic]] (mouse) 
|-
|''[[Trichophyton rubrum]]'' 
|{{Au|(Castell.) Sabour. (1911)}}
|[[anthropophilic]]
|-
| ''[[Trichophyton schoenleinii]]''
|{{Au|(Lebert) Langeron &amp; Miloch. ex Nann. (1934)}}
|[[anthropophilic]]
|-
|''[[Trichophyton simii]]'' 
|{{Au|(Pinoy) Stockdale, D.W.R. Mack. &amp; Austwick (1965)}}
|[[wikt:zoophilic|zoophilic]] (monkey, fowl) 
|-
|''[[Trichophyton soudanense]]'' 
|{{Au|Joyeux (1912)}}
|[[anthropophilic]] 
|-
|''[[Trichophyton tonsurans]]'' 
|{{Au|Malmsten (1848)}}
|[[anthropophilic]]
|-
|''[[Trichophyton verrucosum]]'' 
|{{Au|E. Bodin (1902)}}
|[[wikt:zoophilic|zoophilic]] (cattle, horse) 
|-
|''[[Trichophyton violaceum]]''
|{{Au|Sabour. ex E. Bodin (1902)}}
|[[anthropophilic]]
|-
|}

Other accepted species;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web |title=Trichophyton - Search Page |url=https://www.speciesfungorum.org/Names/Names.asp?strGenus=Trichophyton |website=www.speciesfungorum.org |publisher=Species Fungorum |access-date=2023-05-15}}&lt;/ref&gt;
{{div col}}
* ''[[Trichophyton ajelloi]]'' {{Au|(Vanbreus.) Ajello (1968)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton areolatum]]'' {{Au|Negroni (1929)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton balcaneum]]'' {{Au|Castell. (1919)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton batonrougei]]'' {{Au|Castell. (1939)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton brumptii]]'' {{Au|(Langeron &amp; Baeza) N. Ansari &amp; Faghih (1951)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton candelabrum]]'' {{Au|Listemann (1973)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton cerebriforme]]'' {{Au|Sabour. (1910)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton circonvolutum]]'' {{Au|Sabour. (1910)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton denticulatum]]'' {{Au|Sabour. (1910)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton depressum]]'' {{Au|L. MacCarthy (1925)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton farinulentum]]'' {{Au|Sabour. (1910)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton fischeri]]'' {{Au|J. Kane (1977)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton flavescens]]'' {{Au|A.A. Padhye &amp; J.W. Carmich. (1971)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton floriforme]]'' {{Au|Beintema (1934)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton fluviomuniense]]'' {{Au|Pereiro (1968)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton fuligineum]]'' {{Au|S. Ogata (1929)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton glabrum]]'' {{Au|Sabour. (1910)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton gloriae]]'' {{Au|Ajello (1967)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton gourvilii]]'' {{Au|Catanei (1933)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton guzzonii]]'' {{Au|Castell. (1939)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton immergens]]'' {{Au|Miloch. (1937)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton indicum]]'' {{Au|(Castell.) Nann. (1934)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton indotineae]]'' {{Au|R. Kano, U. Kimura, M. Kakurai, J. Hiruma, H. Kamata, Y. Suga &amp; K. Harada (2020)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton kanei]]'' {{Au|Summerb. (1987)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton krajdenii]]'' {{Au|J. Kane, J.A. Scott &amp; Summerb. (1992)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton kuryangei]]'' {{Au|Vanbreus. &amp; S.A. Rosenthal (1961)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton longifusum]]'' {{Au|(Flórián &amp; Galgoczy) Ajello (1968)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton louisianicum]]'' {{Au|Castell. (1927)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton mariatii]]'' {{Au|Tap. Foss., Mizrachi, A.A. Padhye &amp; Ajello (1980)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton megninii]]'' {{Au|R. Blanch. (1895)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton milochevitchii]]'' {{Au|(Langeron &amp; Baeza) N. Ansari &amp; Faghih (1951)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton multicolor]]'' {{Au|O. Magalh. &amp; J.A. Neves (1927)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton oceanicum]]'' {{Au|Dompm., Drouhet &amp; C. Moreau (1976)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton ochoterenai]]'' {{Au|(Cif.) Nann. (1934)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton olexae]]'' {{Au|Shohei Watan. (1977)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton pedis]]'' {{Au|M. Ota (1922)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton plurizoniforme]]'' {{Au|(L. MacCarthy) Rippon (1988)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton pratense]]'' {{Au|Szathmáry (1941)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton proliferans]]'' {{Au|M.P. English &amp; Stockdale (1968)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton pseudotonsurans]]'' {{Au|Biguet, G. Cochet, Deblock, Andrieu &amp; Duc (1960)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton purpureum]]'' {{Au|H. Bang (1910)}} 
* ''[[Trichophyton radicosum]]'' {{Au|Catanei (1937)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton raubitschekii]]'' {{Au|J. Kane, Salkin, Weitzman &amp; Smitka (1981)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton rotundum]]'' {{Au|L. MacCarthy (1925)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton sabouraudii]]'' {{Au|R. Blanch. (1895)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton sarkisovii]]'' {{Au|L.G. Ivanova &amp; I.D. Poljakov (1983)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton spadix]]'' {{Au|(Y. Katô) Nann. (1934)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton teheraniense]]'' {{Au|Ožeg. (1973)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton tenuishyphum]]'' {{Au|Castell. (1939)}}
* ''[[Trichophyton vanbreuseghemii]]'' {{Au|Rioux, Jarry &amp; Juminer (1965)}}
{{div col end}}

==Mating and meiosis==
''Trichophyton mentagrophytes'' (Family Arthrodermataceae, Genus Trichophyton) is capable of both [[mating]]&lt;ref&gt;{{cite journal | doi=10.3314/jjmm.51.143 | title=Matings among Three Teleomorphs of Trichophyton mentagrophytes | year=2010 | last1=Kawasaki | first1=Masako | last2=Anzawa | first2=Kazushi | last3=Wakasa | first3=Asako | last4=Takeda | first4=Kiminobu | last5=Mochizuki | first5=Takashi | last6=Ishizaki | first6=Hiroshi | last7=Hemashettar | first7=Basavaraj | journal=Nippon Ishinkin Gakkai Zasshi | volume=51 | issue=3 | pages=143–152 | pmid=20716853 | doi-access=free }}&lt;/ref&gt; and [[meiosis]].&lt;ref&gt;{{cite journal | pmid=5679669 | year=1968 | last1=Weitzman | first1=I. | last2=Allderdice | first2=P. W. | last3=Silva-Hutner | first3=M. | last4=Miller | first4=O. J. | title=Meiosis in ''Arthroderma benhamiae'' (=''Trichophyton mentagrophytes'') | journal=Sabouraudia | volume=6 | issue=3 | pages=232–237 | doi=10.1080/00362176885190441 }}&lt;/ref&gt;

==Effect on humans==
The [[anthropophilic]] varieties cause forms of [[dermatophytosis]], that is, fungal infection of the skin.  They are keratinophilic: they feed on the [[keratin]] in nails, hair, and dead skin.

''Trichophyton concentricum'' causes &quot;Malabar itch&quot;, a skin infection consisting of an eruption of a number of concentric rings of overlapping scales forming [[papulosquamous]] patches.&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web |url=http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Malabar_itch |title=Malabar itch - definition from Biology-Online.org&lt;!-- Bot generated title --&gt; |access-date=2008-06-17 |archive-date=2016-03-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330012836/http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Malabar_itch }}&lt;/ref&gt;

''Trichophyton rubrum'' and ''Trichophyton interdigitale'' cause athlete's foot (tinea pedis), [[toenail fungal infection]]s (a.k.a. tinea unguium, a.k.a. onychomycosis), [[crotch itch]] (a.k.a. tinea cruris), and [[tinea corporis|ringworm]] (a misnomer, as there is no worm involved; it is also known as tinea corporis). ''Trichophyton schoenleinii'' cause favus (tinea capitis),''Trichophyton mentagrophytes var. mentagrophytes'' and ''Trichophyton verrucosum'' cause [[kerion]] (violent reaction results from infection with an animal dermatophytes).{{cn|date=July 2023}} [[Fungal folliculitis]] is a rare hair follicle infection induced overwhelmingly by ''Trichophyton'', which can be spread [[zoonotic]]ally.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite journal |last1=Boral |first1=Hazal |last2=Durdu |first2=Murat |last3=Ilkit |first3=Macit |title=Majocchi's granuloma: current perspectives |journal=Infection and Drug Resistance |date=2018 |volume=11 |pages=751–760 |doi=10.2147/IDR.S145027 |pmid=29861637 |pmc=5968791 |doi-access=free }}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite journal |last1=Crain |first1=Caroline B. |last2=Rana |first2=Arathi |last3=Winsett |first3=Frank T. |last4=Wilkerson |first4=Michael G. |title=Two Rare Cases of Tinea Corporis Caused by Trichophyton verrucosum and Trichophyton interdigitale in a Teenage Girl |journal=Cureus |date=2019 |volume=11 |issue=8 |article-number=e5325 |doi=10.7759/cureus.5325 |doi-access=free |pmid=31598432 |pmc=6777930 |issn=2168-8184}}&lt;/ref&gt; The fungi can easily spread to other areas of the body as well and to the host's home environs (socks, shoes, clothes, showers, bathtubs, counters, floors, carpets, etc.).

They can be transmitted by direct contact, by contact with infested particles (of dead skin, nails, hair) shed by the host, and by contact with the fungi's [[spore]]s. These fungi thrive in warm moist dark environments, such as in the dead upper layers of skin between the toes of a sweaty foot inside a tightly enclosed shoe, or in dead skin particles on the wet floor of a communal (shared) shower. Their spores are extremely difficult to eliminate, and spread everywhere.

When the [[hyphae]] of the fungi burrow into the skin and release enzymes to digest keratin, they may irritate nerve endings and cause the host to [[itch]], which may elicit the [[scratch reflex]], which directs the host to scratch.  Scratching directly transfers fungi and dead skin particles that are infested with the fungi to the fingers and under the finger nails.  From there they can be transmitted to other parts of the host's body when the host touches or scratches those. Scratching also damages skin layers, making it easier for the fungi to spread at the site of the infection.  If the fungi and infested debris are not washed from the fingers and fingernails soon enough, the fungi can also infect the skin of the fingers ([[tinea manuum]]), and burrow underneath and into the material of the fingernails ([[tinea unguium]]).  If left untreated, the fungi continue to grow and spread.

==Treatments==
A variety of zoophilic and anthropophilic dermatophyte treatments have varying levels of success based on species type. Treatments may take up to six months.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite journal |last1=Łagowsk |first1=Dominik |last2=Gnat |first2=Sebastian |last3=Nowakiewicz |first3=Aneta |last4=Osińska |first4=Marcelina |title=Comparison of ''in vitro'' activities of 11 antifungal agents against Trichophyton verrucosum isolates associated with a variety hosts and geographical origin |journal=Mycoses |date=2020 |volume=63 |issue=3 |pages=294–301 |doi=10.1111/myc.13042|pmid=31820493 |s2cid=209165839 }}&lt;/ref&gt;

==See also==
* [[Vioxanthin]], a mycotoxin and pigment first isolated from ''Trichophyton violaceum''

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em|refs=

&lt;ref name=&quot;deHoog2017&quot;&gt;{{Cite journal |vauthors=de Hoog GS, Dukik K, Monod M, et al. |year=2017 |title=Toward a novel multilocus phylogenetic taxonomy for the dermatophytes |journal=[[Mycopathologia]] |volume=182 |issue=1–2 |pages=5–31 |doi=10.1007/s11046-016-0073-9 |pmid=27783317|pmc=5283515 |doi-access=free }}&lt;/ref&gt;

}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121102161756/http://www.doctorfungus.org/thefungi/Trichophyton.php Doctor Fungus]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070524031748/http://www.mycology.adelaide.edu.au/Fungal_Descriptions/Dermatophytes/Trichophyton/ Mycology Unit at the Adelaide Women's and Children's Hospital ]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q310925}}

[[Category:Parasitic fungi]]
[[Category:Arthrodermataceae]]
[[Category:Cat diseases]]
[[Category:Eurotiomycetes genera]]