''Mucor'' is a
microbial
A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic size, which may exist in its single-celled form or as a colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen microbial life was suspected from antiquity, with an early attestation in ...
genus of approximately 40 species of
molds and
dimorphic fungi
A dimorphic fungus is a fungus that can exist in the form of both mold and yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of mill ...
in the family
Mucoraceae
The Mucoraceae are a family of fungi of the order Mucorales, characterized by having the thallus not segmented or ramified. Pathogenic genera include ''Absidia'', '' Apophysomyces'', '' Mucor'', '' Rhizomucor'', and '' Rhizopus''. According to a ...
. The genus includes both pathogenic and avirulent species, and some members of it can be utilized in biotechnical applications.
These fungi are commonly found in
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...
,
digestive system
The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller compone ...
s,
plant
Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...
surfaces, some cheeses like
Tomme de Savoie
Tomme de Savoie () is an uplandJoel Robuchon et al., ''Larousse Gastronomique'' (New York, New York: Clarkson Potter, 2001), page 1220. variety of Tomme cheese, specifically, one from Savoy in the French Alps. It is a mild, semi-firm cow's mil ...
,
rotten
Rotten may refer to:
* Axl Rotten, ring name of American professional wrestler Brian Knighton (1971–2016)
* Bonnie Rotten, American former pornographic actress, feature dancer, fetish model, and director
* Ian Rotten, ring name of American profe ...
vegetable matter and
iron oxide
An iron oxide is a chemical compound composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Ferric oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of which is rust.
Iron ...
residue in the
biosorption
Biosorption is a physiochemical process that occurs naturally in certain biomass which allows it to passively concentrate and bind contaminants onto its cellular structure. Biosorption can be defined as the ability of biological materials to accumu ...
process.
Description
Colonies of this fungal genus are typically yellow, beige or grey. They are characterized by rapid growth and sporulation in high
aw environments, and they reproduce both sexually and
asexually.
''Mucor''
spores
In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...
or sporangiospores can be simple or branched and form apical, globular
sporangia
A sporangium (from Late Latin, ; : sporangia) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a unicellular organism, single cell or can be multicellular organism, multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungus, fungi, and many ot ...
that are supported and elevated by a column-shaped columella. ''Mucor'' species can be differentiated from molds of the genera ''
Absidia
''Absidia'' is a genus of fungi in the family Cunninghamellaceae. ''Absidia'' species are ubiquitous in most environments where they are often associated with warm decaying plant matter, such as compost heaps. Some species in the genus can caus ...
'', ''
Rhizomucor'', and ''
Rhizopus
''Rhizopus'' is a genus of common saprophytic fungi on plants and specialized parasites on animals. They are found in a wide variety of organic substances, including "mature fruits and vegetables", jellies, syrups, leather, bread, peanuts, and t ...
'' by the shape and insertion of the columella, and the lack of
stolon
In biology, a stolon ( from Latin ''wikt:stolo, stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as a runner, is a horizontal connection between parts of an organism. It may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton. Typically, animal ...
s and
rhizoid
Rhizoids are protuberances that extend from the lower epidermal cells of bryophytes and algae. They are similar in structure and function to the root hairs of vascular land plants. Similar structures are formed by some fungi. Rhizoids may be un ...
s. Some ''Mucor'' species produce
chlamydospore
A chlamydospore is the thick-walled large resting spore of several kinds of fungi, including Ascomycota such as '' Candida'', Basidiomycota such as '' Panus'', and various Mortierellales species. It is the life-stage which survives in unfavourab ...
s. They form mold with irregular non-septate hyphae branching at wide angles (>90°).
Reproduction
''Mucor mucedo'' (type species) use asexual reproduction. When erect hyphal sporangiophores are formed, the tip of the sporangiophore swells to form a globose sporangium that contains