FUNGAL

PATHOGENS
ANTALAN, YRYLLE RISHENE
GERMAN, MARIA ALEGRIA KRISTIA
MANALO, SAMANTHA TIFFANY
TURALBA, ANGELICA
 Trichophyton rubrum

Characteristics
This fungus is distinguished morphologically by the formation of macro and
microconidia with smooth walls..The macroconidia originate laterally in the
hyphae or in short pedicles of thin or thick walls and are club-shaped or
fusiform, with a size that varies from 4-8 to 8-50 μm. The microconidia are
abundant, spherical, pyriform, or irregularly shaped, with sizes varying from 2-
3 to 2-4 μm.Colonies of T. rubrum are white and cottony on the surface and
have a reverse side that ranges from yellow-brown to wine-red
 Pathogenesis
Trichophyton rubrum is rarely isolated from animals. In humans,
men are more often infected than women. T. rubrum is an
anthropophilic dermatophyte, it is contagious from infected to
uninfected persons. It is spread by direct contact with infected skin
or hair embedded in clothing, combs, caps, socks, and towels.

Disease it causes
Approximately 80–93% of chronic dermatophyte infections in
many parts of the developed world are thought to be caused by T.
rubrum including cases of tinea pedis(foot), tinea unguium(nail),
tinea manuum(hand), tinea cruris(groin), and tinea corporis(arms
and leg), as well as some cases of tinea barbae(beard)
 Laboratory Diagnostics
Plucked hairs, skin and nail scrapings, and skin and nail scrapings
can be immediately inspected under a microscope to detect fungal
components as a preliminary test suggesting infection. In this
direct study, T. rubrum cannot be discriminated from other
dermatophytes. It may be differentiated from other dermatophytes
in vitro by its distinctive micromorphology in culture, which often
consists of tiny, tear-drop-shaped microconidia, as well as its
typical blood-red colony reverse pigmentation on most growth
medium.
Trichophyton mentagrophytes

CHARACTERISTICS
T. mentagrophytes is a very variable fungus and many characteristics are not
consistent when cultured in the different medium.The granular colony form typically
has a powdery appearance due to numerous single-celled microconidia (spores)
formed. Microconidia of T. mentagrophytes are hyaline, smooth-walled, spherical to
subspherical in shape, and occasional pyriform to clavate or of irregular shape. They
are clavate to fusiform, and thin- or thick-walled with 4-5 cells separated by parallel
cross-walls, which are laterally directly grown on the hyphae or on short pedicels.
 PATHOGENICITY
T. mentagrophytes complex, a keratinolytic fungus, can secrete a variety of
proteases that enable it to attack different keratinous substrates. It favors
methionine as a nitrogen source and, due to a lack of suitable enzymes, is unable to
utilise the trisaccharide melezitose. Five separate keratinolytic enzymes have been
isolated from ten different strains of T. Mentagrophytes is hypothesized to have a
role in the genesis of infections in both humans and animals.
Animals, like humans, become infected when they come into contact with the skin
or hair of an infected animal or when they touch something contaminated with
mentagrophytes, such as blankets, towels, combs, brushes, furniture, linens, and so
on. The most common source of infection is contact with damaged cells on the skin,
hair, and nails.

Diseases it Causes
This fungus is known to produce Dermatophytosis or Ringworm, a skin ailment
that manifests as an inflammatory circular pattern on a person's skin. Infections of
the skin, hair, and nails can result in disorders such as tines pedis or athlete's foot.
 Laboratory Diagnostics
Histological sections should be stained with a silver stain or
Schiff’s reagent to reveal organisms. Trichophyton also can be
cultured on Sabouraud agar. Plates are incubated at room
temperature (22–30°C), and growth is observed at 5–10 days.
 TRICHOPHYTON
VERRUCOSUM

Characteristic
Trichophyton verrucosum is very slow-growing compared to other
dermatophytes. In culture, it is characterized by being flat, white/cream
colour, having an occasional dome, with a glabrous texture, known as
the variant album, however other variations are also found: T.
 Pathogenicity
Among all fungi, the Trichophyton verrucosum were isolated mostly,
so the main pathogenic fungi causing cattle dermatosis are Trichophyton
verrucosum.
Disease Cause
Trichophyton verrucosum, commonly known as the cattle ringworm
fungus, is a dermatophyte largely responsible for fungal skin disease in
cattle, but is also a common cause of ringworm in donkeys, dogs, goat,
sheep, and horses.
Laboratory diagnosis
Diagnosis can be made by scraping the erythematous edge and placing
the scraping with KOH under a microscope to check for hyphae. Wood's
lamp only fluoresces if tinea is caused by Microsporum spp.; however,
the most common (in the U.S.)Trichophyton spp. does not fluoresce.
 
 EPIDERMOPHYTON
FLOCCOSUM
 
> is an anthropophilic dermatophyte with a cosmopolitan distribution that often
causes tinea pedis, tinea cruris, tinea corporis, and onychomycosis ( nail
infection). E. floccosum is not known to invade hair in vivo and no specific growth
requirements have been reported.
CHARACTERISTICS
Grows slowly and growth appears as an olive green khaki color, with the periphery
surrounded by a dull orange brown color . Colonies develop a cottony white aerial
mycelium that completely overgrows the colony
 Pathogenicity
Epidermophyton is a keratinophilic filamentous fungus. The ability to
invade keratinized tissues and the possession of several enzymes, such as
acid proteinases, elastase, keratinases, and other proteinases are the major
virulence factors of these fungi.
DISEASE IT CAUSE
Onychomycosis
Fungal infection of the nail, where it becomes thick, discolored and
flakey.
Tinea Pedis
Fungal infection of the foot caused by contact with infected skin scales in
the environment (e.g., carpets, locker rooms). Also known as athlete's
food. Develops extensive scaling, fissuring and erythema
 LABORATORY DIAGNOSES
Specimen: Skin scrapings, nail scrapings
Microscopic Examination
10–20% potassium hydroxide, with or without calcofluor white, and the
specimens skin or nails.
Cultural Examination
Using inhibitory mold agar or SDA medium containing cycloheximide and
chloramphenicol which suppresses mold and bacterial growth. Colonies are
usually slow-growing, greenish-brown or khaki-colored with a suede-like
surface, raised and folded in the center, with a flat periphery and
submerged fringe of growth.
 LPCB Tease mount for Microscopic appearance
The colony is teased and the LPCB mount is made to demonstrate the hyphae
and spore ( conidia).  Conidia is of  two types i.e. Microconidia:- small
unicellular
Macroconidia:- Multicellular, septate
Special hyphae:- hyphae such as racquet hyphae as shown above picture.
Biochemical test
Urease test:- Epidermophyton species are urease negative
Other methods of diagnosis
Hair perforation test:- fungi pierce hair-producing wedge-shaped perforations.
Positive:- Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Microsporum canis.
Negative: Epidermophyton species
 Trichophyton tonsurans

> is an anthropophilic dermatophyte with a worldwide distribution and is responsible

for superficial mycosis with a wide range of clinical manifestations. 
CHARACTERISTICS
Colony growth is slow, suede-like to powdery, white, beige, pale yellow to sulphur
yellow on the surface with a yellow to dark brown reverse.
Microconidia are numerous, varying in shape and size (pyriform, club-shaped to
balloon- shaped).
Macroconidia are rare. When present they are sinuous with smooth walls.
 PATHOGENECITY
Trichophyton tonsurans is a cosmopolitan (found worldwide)
dermatophyte (a fungus of skin, nails or hair). It is the etiologic agent
most frequently implicated in ‘ringworm’ infections of the scalp (Tinea
capitis) in America. Causes an endothrix infection of the hair
(penetrates hair shaft to grow within). T.tonsurans is anthropophilic
(prefers humans to animals) however sources vary on its infectivity.
One prominent source suggests T.tonsurans is Zoophilic, but is
frequently transmitted to man. Others have speculated that equine
strains may have mutated to become anthropophilic. Infections are
more commonly found in heavily populated urban regions.
DISEASE IT CAUSE
Black-Dot Ringworm
Fungal infection which invades the hair shaft leading to weakened and
brittle hair that breaks off leading to hair stubs. Usually caused by
Trichophyton tonsurans and Trichophyton violaceum.
 LABORATORY DIAGNOSIS
The diagnosis is made by KOH microscopic examination
and culture of broken hairs. The KOH preparation reveals
spores surrounding the hair shaft (ectothrix), characteristic of
Microsporum spp., or within the shaft (endothrix),
characteristic of T. tonsurans.
 Microsporum canis

> is a zoophilic dermatophyte of worldwide distribution and is a frequent cause of

ringworm in humans, especially children. Invades hair, skin and rarely nails. Cats and
dogs are the main sources of infection. Invaded hairs show an ectothrix infection and
fluoresce a bright greenish-yellow under Wood’s ultra-violet light.
CHARACTERISTICS
Colonies are flat, spreading, white to cream-coloured, with a dense cottony surface which
may show some radial grooves. Colonies usually have a bright golden yellow to brownish
yellow reverse pigment, but non-pigmented strains may also occur. Macroconidia are
typically spindle-shaped with 5-15 cells, verrucose, thick-walled and often have a terminal
knob, 35-110 x 12-25 µm. A few pyriform to clavate microconidia are also present.
 PATHOGENICITY
M. canis mainly causes dermatophytosis in cats and dogs. And infected animals and
asexual spores contaminated objects are common sources for human infection.
Spores are very resistant, attach to the skin and germinate producing hyphae, which
will then grow in the dead, superficial layers of the skin, hair or nails.

DISEASE IT CAUSE
M. canis are associated with alopecia in the case of tinea capitis, while ringworm
infections in pets produce characteristic inflammatory lesions, which may or may nor
result in hair loss. This species has a propensity to cause subclinical infections in
some animal species, particularly long-haired cats are frequent reservoirs of
infection. Isolation of the fungus from brushed pet hair can aid in detection of either
an actively growing fungus or a passive carriage of fungal hyphae or
arthroconidia. In asymptomatic cases it is highly recommended to perform both
Wood's lamp examination and microscopic analyses of suspected areas. In the case of
transient carriers, lack of clinical manifestations is accompanied with low number
of M. canis colonies, number of which declines upon re-testing.
 LABORATORY DIAGNOSTICS
When scaling and inflammation are prominent, other diagnoses to consider include
seborrheic dermatitis (no hair loss), atopic dermatitis (lesions in flexural folds of the
neck, arms, or legs), and psoriasis (nail changes and silvery scales on the knees or
elbows). When alopecia is prominent, diagnoses to rule out include alopecia areata
(complete, rather than patchy, hair loss), traction alopecia (history of tight hair
braiding), and trichotillomania (hairs of differing lengths and a history of obsessive
hair manipulation).
Topical treatment is not effective for tinea capitis. Systemic antifungal therapy is
required to penetrate the hair follicles. Griseofulvin (Grisactin, Gris-PEG) is the only
agent that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has labeled for the
treatment of tinea capitis. Although griseofulvin remains the gold standard, it is a less
than ideal agent for several reasons: resistant organisms require dosage increases to
effect a cure; treatment must be continued for six to 12 weeks; relapse rates are high
because of rapid clearance of the drug from the skin with the cessation of therapy;
and the liquid form for young children is a bitter-tasting solution.
 Microsporum gypseum

> The colour is influenced by the media it is grown on.  Colony generally described as yellowish-
buff to a dark cream or tan colour in colour.  The colony may develop a sterile white ‘feathered’
hyphal border or a cottony white raised center.  The reverse may be yellow, orange-tan or brownish-
red in colour with possible pink to purplish tinges.  Colonies are generally flat with a granular or
powdery texture and exhibit a moderately rapid growth rate, maturing in about one week.
CHARACTERISTICS
M.gypseum has septate hyphae along which sessile or stalked clavate (club shaped) microconidia (3
– 8 µm X 2 -3 µm) may be found.  The fusiform (spindle shaped) macroconidia (8 – 15 µm X 22 –
60 µm) are relatively thin walled, verrucose (with bumpy surface) and contain about 3 – 6 internal
cells.  M. gypseum’s macroconidia has a rounded apical end while the base is truncated and may
show an annular frill.  They are usually produced in great numbers.  This
differentiates M.gypseum’s macroconidia from the M.canis macroconidia which has rather pointed
ends and the rather rare & distorted macroconidia produced by M.audounii.
 PATHOGENICITY
The pathophysiological mechanisms associated with the fungi are due to either the
presence of substances on the surface of the fungi, or substances released by the
fungi.[14] These can include: surface adhesins, mannans, enzymes such as proteinases
, peptidases, DNases, and lipases.[14] The extracellular proteases released assist the
fungus in invading the host skin barrier (keratin rich) with the presence of keratinase
 (keratinolytic activity increases).[14] They then use the proteases to enhance their
survival by chemically or physically altering the environment to their benefit by
digesting the host proteins, thus providing themselves with nutrition. These proteases
 are found in all stages of growth (lag to declining) but peak at the mid log phase.
DISEASE IT CAUSE
Microsporum gypseum is a geophilic fungus that has a worldwide distribution and
rarely causes disease in humans. This fungus may be found in dogs and cats (which
can be asymptomatic carriers), in sick human beings, and especially in contaminated
soil. Dermatophytosis caused by M. gypseum usually manifests as an inflammatory
mycosis that typically affects the glabrous skin and scalp, especially in children.
Rarely, it can present as onychomycosis. Only few cases of dermatophytosis caused
by M. gypseum in children under two years.
 LABORATORY DIAGNOSTICS
Diagnosis can be suspected based on clinical presentation but should
be confirmed by fungal culture with dermatophyte test medium
(DTM). Microscopic examination of the hair and skin scrapings
collected from lesion margins can also be performed to supplement
fungal culture. For better visualization of fungal elements, samples
should be cleared of keratin with chlorolactophenol or with potassium
hydroxide (KOH).
 TRICHOPHYTON
VIOLACEUM

 Characteristic
Trichophyton violaceum is an anthropophilic fungus rarely isolated from animals. It
has been reported from buffaloes, horses, cattle, cats, dogs, mice, sheep, a pigeon,
and a mule (4,6–8). Hair invasion is endothrix without fluorescence, and the perfect
state has not been reported
 Pathogenicity
T. violaceum is an anthropophilic dermatophyte responsible for tinea
capitis, tinea faciei, tinea corporis, tinea cruris, tinea manuum, tinea pedis,
and onychomycosis. This dermatophyte is endemic in Sub-Saharan Africa
and Asia
Disease it cause
Dermatophytosis is an infectious condition caused by geophilic, zoophilic,
or anthropophilic fungi, such as Trichophyton violaceum, which invade the
superficial dead layer of the skin or keratinized tissues like hair and nails.
Laboratory Diagnosis
Direct microscopy with KOH examination
Fungal culture
Wood light for M. canis and M. audouinii: fluoresce bright yellow
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