''Engyodontium'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

belonging to the group

Hyphomycetes Hyphomycetes are a form classification of fungi, part of what has often been referred to as fungi imperfecti, Deuteromycota, or anamorphic fungi. Hyphomycetes lack closed fruit bodies, and are often referred to as moulds (or molds). Most hypho ...

and contains about 6

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

. This fungus was formerly included in ''

Beauveria ''Beauveria'' is a genus of asexually-reproducing fungi allied with the ascomycete family Cordycipitaceae. Its several species are typically insect pathogens. The sexual states ( teleomorphs) of ''Beauveria'' species, where known, are species ...

'', but is now recognized as a distinct genus. Outdoors it is common in soil and plant debris. Indoors, it can be found on paper, textiles,

jute Jute ( ) is a long, rough, shiny bast fibre that can be Spinning (textiles), spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', of the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ...

, and painted walls. The most common species is ''E. album''. It forms a cottony, white colony producing numerous dry, tiny

conidia A conidium ( ; : conidia), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (: chlamydoconidia), is an asexual, non- motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word for dust, ('). They are also ...

. Production of

mycotoxin A mycotoxin (from the Greek μύκης , "fungus" and τοξικός , "poisonous") is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by fungi and is capable of causing disease and death in both humans and other animals. The term 'mycotoxin' is usually rese ...

s by this fungus has not been reported at this time. It is an opportunist fungus and causes

brain abscess The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head ( cephalization), usually near organs for special sense ...

es,

keratitis Keratitis is a condition in which the human eye, eye's cornea, the clear dome on the front surface of the eye, becomes inflammation, inflamed. The condition is often marked by moderate to intense pain and usually involves any of the following sy ...

, and native valve

endocarditis Endocarditis is an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart, the endocardium. It usually involves the heart valves. Other structures that may be involved include the interventricular septum, the chordae tendineae, the mural endocardium, o ...

to immunocompromised people. In 2023, Australian scientists discovered the ability of ''E. album'' to decompose

polypropylene Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. It is produced via chain-growth polymerization from the monomer Propene, propylene. Polypropylene belongs to the group of polyolefin ...

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

completely in 140 days.

List of species

According to

GBIF The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from around the ...

Catalogue of Life The Catalogue of Life (CoL) is an online database that provides an index of known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It was created in 2001 as a partnership between the global Species 2000 and the American Integrated Taxono ...

and

Encyclopedia of Life The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is a free, online encyclopedia intended to document all of the 1.9 million living species known to science. It aggregates content to form "pages" for every known species. Content is compiled from existing trusted ...

, these are the species of ''Engyodontium'': * '' Engyodontium album'' (Limber) de Hoog 1978 * '' Engyodontium aranearum'' (Cavara) W. Gams, de Hoog, Samson & H. C. Evans 1984 * '' Engyodontium geniculatum'' H.C.Evans & Samson * '' Engyodontium parvisporum'' (Petch) de Hoog * '' Engyodontium rectidentatum'' (Matsush.) W.Gams, de Hoog, Samson & H.C.Evans

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10484203 Hypocreales genera Cordycipitaceae