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Zygomycosis and the Joplin Tornado



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Rhizopus Species

Slide 10

July 2011

One of those organisms that we see very commonly is Rhizopus. These organisms Rhizopus, Mucor, and the others are not always pathogenic. They are not pathogenic unless the circumstances are just right. They belong to a group of fungi called the opportunistic infections.  And that means that everything happens to be just right for these organisms to infect the patient. The patient has to be immunosuppressed and so on or something unusual has to happen just like it did with the Joplin tornado. With Rhizopus you will notice that the rhizoids are facing downward and if you trace the sporangiophore up towards the sporangium, you will see that the rhizoids are produced right at the base of that sporangiophore. And that is the hallmark of Rhizopus is that the rhizoids are produced right at the base of the sporangium and within the sporangium would be the columella and in this you cannot see that but when the sporangiospores are out of there you can see that is looks like an umbrella.

Rhizopus Species

 


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