page_title: Penicillium digitatum
section_title: Laboratory identification
hierarchical_section_title: Penicillium digitatum / Laboratory identification
caption_attribution_description: English: Penicillium digitatum growing on a potato dextrose agar plate. Identified using Barnett, H. L. &amp; Hunter, B. B. (1998) Illustrated Genera of Imperfect Fungi. APS Press: St. Paul, MN; pp. 94&#8211;5 ISBN&#160;0-89054-192-2. Recovered from a sweet orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck). Host status confirmed using Farr, D. F., Bills, G. F., Chamuris, G. P., &amp; Rossman, A. Y. (1995) Fungi on Plants and Plant Products in the United States. APS Press: St. Paul, MN; pp. 494&#8211;7 ISBN&#160;0-89054-099-3.
context_page_description: Penicillium digitatum is a mesophilic fungus found in the soil of citrus-producing areas. It is a major source of post-harvest decay in fruits and is responsible for the widespread post-harvest disease in Citrus fruit known as green rot or green mould.In nature, this necrotrophic wound pathogen grows in filaments and reproduces asexually through the production of conidiophores. However, P. digitatum can also be cultivated in the laboratory setting. Alongside its pathogenic life cycle, P. digitatum is also involved in other human, animal and plant interactions and is currently being used in the production of immunologically based mycological detection assays for the food industry.
context_section_description: Penicillium digitatum can be identified in the laboratory using a variety of methods. Typically, strains are grown for one week on three chemically defined media under varying temperature conditions. The media used are Czapek Yeast Extract Agar (at 5, 25 and 37 °C), Malt Extract Agar (at 25 °C) and 25% Glycerol Nitrate Agar (at 25 °C). The resulting colonial morphology on these media (described in Growth and Morphology above) allows for identification of P. digitatum. Closely related species in the genus Pencillium can be resolved through this approach by using Creatine Sucrose Neutral Agar. Molecular methods can also aid with identification. The genomes of many species belonging to the genus Penicillium remain to be sequenced however, limiting the applicability of such methods. Lastly, P. digitatum can also be distinguished macroscopically by the production of yellow-green to olive conidia and microscopically, by the presence of large philades and conidia.
caption: Penicillium digitatum growing on a Petri dish.
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