page_title: Mucor racemosus
section_title: Physiology and ecology
hierarchical_section_title: Mucor racemosus / Physiology and ecology
caption_attribution_description: English: Mucor racemosus (UAMH 8346) cultured on potato dextrose agar at 25 °C for 10 days.
context_page_description: Mucor racemosus is a rapidly growing, weedy mould belonging to the phylum, Zygomycota. It is one of the earliest fungi to be grown in pure culture and was first isolated in 1886. It has a worldwide distribution and colonizes many habitats such as vegetational products, soil and houses. The fungus is mostly known for its ability to exhibit both filamentous and yeast-like morphologies, often referred to as dimorphism. Stark differences are seen in both forms and conditions of the environment heavily affect the phases of the M. racemosus. Like many fungi, it also reproduces both sexually and asexually. The dimorphic capacity of this species has been proposed as an important factor in its pathogenicity and has enhanced the industrial importance. This species is considered an opportunistic pathogen, generally limited to immunocompromised individuals. It also been associated with allergy and inflammations of facial sinuses. Its association with allergy has made it a common fungus used in allergen medical testing. Industrial use of the fungus is in the production of enzymes and the manufacture of certain dairy foods.
context_section_description: M. racemosus possesses the ability to exhibit multiple morphology (mainly, filamentous and spherical shape) to withstand various environmental stress. This has given it ability to survive many conditions and it has a worldwide distribution, reported most frequently in Europe as well as Americas. In the tropics, it has been seen at higher altitudes. While the species is primarily soil-based, it has been shown to exist elsewhere such as in horse manure, plant remains, grains, vegetables and nuts. Typically, it is often seen on plant-based materials such as soft fruit, fruit juice and marmalade but it has also been isolated from non-plant sources like soft camembert cheese. M. racemosus has also been isolated from the human gut microbiome of non-obese individuals. It is the most common mould found in the floor dust in houses and is largely considered as an indoor mould.M. racemosus is uniquely known for its ability to display multiple morphologies but most of the time, studies are made based on the dimorphic form of the species. It is a facultative anaerobic zygomycote and fast-growing, conferring it ability to survive in multiple conditions/locations all over the world. M. racemosus possesses the ability to biosynthesize chitin and chitosan, which has been proposed as a mechanism supporting the ability of the fungus to switch between the yeast and the mould phases. Genomic analysis of M. racemosus has revealed genes similar to human RAS genes, and it is proposed that these genes help with germination and dimorphism. Protein kinase A (PKA) genes such as pkaR are highly also expressed during dimorphic shift.
caption: Mucor racemosus (UAMH 8346) cultured on potato dextrose agar at 25 °C for 10 days.
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