''Ulocladium chartarum'' () is an
ascomycetes
Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The de ...
mushroom, one of the many in the genus ''
Ulocladium
''Ulocladium'' is a genus of fungi. Species of this genus contain both plant pathogens and food spoilage agents. Other species contain enzymes that are biological control agents.
Some members of the genus can invade homes and are a sign of moi ...
''.
History and taxonomy
''Ulocladium chartarum'' was discovered in 1848. It was originally called ''Alternaria chartarum'', but was given its current name by E. G. Simmons in 1967.
''Ulocladium chartarum'' is a
mold
A mold () or mould () is one of the structures that certain fungus, fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of Spore#Fungi, spores containing Secondary metabolite#Fungal secondary metabolites, fungal ...
commonly found in indoor environments.
Members of the genus ''Ulocladium'' are often found in water damaged materials, and can even be found on paper if conditions are right. It is often found together with species ''
Stachybotrys
''Stachybotrys'' () is a genus of molds, hyphomycetes or asexually reproducing, filamentous fungi, now placed in the family Stachybotryaceae. The genus was erected by August Carl Joseph Corda in 1837. Historically, it was considered closely ...
''.(Frisvad and Gravesen 1994, Gravesen et al. 1997) The presence of ''Ulocladium'' is a good indicator of wet environments or water damage.
This genus is
morphologically similar to ''
Alternaria
''Alternaria'' is a genus of Deuteromycetes fungi. All species are known as major Phytopathology, plant pathogens. They are also common allergens in humans, growing indoors and causing hay fever or hypersensitivity reactions that sometimes lead t ...
'' and possesses the same major
allergen
An allergen is an otherwise harmless substance that triggers an allergic reaction in sensitive individuals by stimulating an immune response.
In technical terms, an allergen is an antigen that is capable of stimulating a type-I hypersensitivi ...
. It appears to live in the same places as ''
S. chartarum'' although with more frequency, as it is able to grow under the same
humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...
range as ''Alternaria''.
Almost no
secondary metabolite
Secondary metabolites, also called ''specialised metabolites'', ''secondary products'', or ''natural products'', are organic compounds produced by any lifeform, e.g. bacteria, archaea, fungi, animals, or plants, which are not directly involved ...
s have been isolated from the mold.
All four isolates inoculated on materials
[(Neilsen et al. 1999)] grew well but did not produce any metabolic quantities of secondary metabolites, which is in accordance with the literature where few metabolites from this genus have been described. Analyses of natural samples with excessive growth have not revealed any metabolites in the polarity range.
Growth and morphology
The
teleomorph
In mycology, the terms teleomorph, anamorph, and holomorph apply to portions of the life cycles of fungi in the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota:
*Teleomorph: the sexual reproductive stage (morph), typically a fruiting body.
*Anamorph: an ase ...
of ''U. chartarum'' is unknown.
The
colonies
A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...
can range from velvety to floccose with coloration ranging from olivaceous brown to black.
They grow rapidly.
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 ...
can range from obovoid to short ellipsoidal, with colors of golden brown to blackish brown, roughened with 1–5 oblique or longitudinal septa and 1–5 lateral septa. It can be born singly or in short chains from sympodial conidiophores.
The colonies grow rapidly, and range from powdery to lanose and black or olivaceous black.
Conidiophores are erect, straight or flexuose; often somewhat geniculate, but mostly unbranched. They can be up to 50 x 4–5 um, golden brown, smooth-walled, conidial scars brown.
The conidia commonly form in chains of 2–10, with ellipsoidal or obovoidal shapes and often with short peaks. Its colors can range from medium brown to olivaceous, or black and verrucose. It is 18–38 x 11–20 um, with 1–5 (commonly 3) transfers and several oblique or longitudinal septa.
Secondary conidiophores are often present on conidia.
Conidiophores septate can be simple or branched, straight,