Microbiology Case

Most molds are made through asexual reproduction. According to Hands-on-labs (2012), conidiospores and sporangiospores are two molds that reproduce asexually. Conidiospores are formed at the tip of conidiopores, a stalk like structure. Pencillium, a common household mold, produces conidiospores. Sporangiospores are formed inside of a sac or sporangium. Rhizopus is a mold capable of forming sporangiospores. It is generally harmless. Under certain conditions, rhizopus is capable of sexual reproduction thus forming a zygospore. Zygospores are a type of sexual spore. Two different hyphal mating tips join together to create this type of spore.

At the end of the observation time, the strawberry was almost completely covered in a gray fuzzy mold. The swiss cheese slice had two small circles of a blue-green fungus on the edges. The muffin and carrot sticks did not have any observable fungus on them. The orange felt less firm but also did not show any signs of mold. The heads of the broccoli had a white fuzzy mold on them but the stalk did not have any mold. However, the entire broccoli had turned from a vibrant green to a brownish color, was limp instead of firm and had a foul smelling liquid in the holding bag. The substrates that showed growth all had a different type of microbe on them as evidenced by the color and pattern of growth.

We are unable to create a wet mount and make any observations of morphological or other characteristics of a preparation as the necessary equipment was not included in the materials. We are also not provided with a microscope so are not able to identify fungal colonies in this experiment.

Usually fungi do not cause disease in healthy individuals and we come in contact with them every day. They exist on the human body and in the environment. Our bodies are able to resist most of these fungi. Some individuals are more susceptible to fungal infections including those hospitalized and with weakened immune systems. The