GLIOCLADIUM, PAECILOMYCES, AND SCOPULARIOPSIS 703 



of Leeds by Professor Frederick Challenger and associates at this time, and 

 in May 1932 the gas ^Yas identified as trimethylarsine, (CH3)3As. An in- 

 tensive study of the whole problem has since been conducted and a long 

 series of papers have been published in British Chemical journals (see 

 Topical Bibliography, p. 720). The evolution of volatile gases of tellurium 

 and selenium was likewise investigated. In 1945 Challenger published in 

 Chemical Reviews an important paper entitled "Biological Methylation" 

 in which 219 references are cited. Without doubt this constitutes the best 

 available summary of information on the subject. In the same year. Bach 

 published in Biological Reviews a paper under this same title but more 

 limited in scope. 



Thom and Raper (1932) reported other species of molds to produce 

 arsenical gases, but found none of these to be as active as Scopidariopsis 

 brevicaidis. 



A number of investigators have followed Gosio in proposing the use of 

 Scopidariopsis brevicaidis for detecting small amounts of arsenic in foods 

 and other products. Teichert (1934) used it to detect the presence of 

 arsenic in metal foils used as cheese wrappings. Breiter (1936) used it as 

 a qualitative test but questioned its usefulness in quantitative work. Smith 

 and Cameron (1933), on the other hand, outlined a method by which 

 amounts as low as 1 p. p.m. could be detected in food samples. Gosio re- 

 published on this subject as recently as 1932. 



Burgess (1928, 1930, 1931) reported Penicillium brevicaule to be one of 

 the molds most commonly encountered in his investigations of the micro- 

 biology of wool. Davis (1933) found P. brevicaide to be common on mil- 

 dewed areas of silk and cellulose acetate cloths. 



Nakazawa and Takeda (1928), studying the foods produced by natives 

 in Java and Sumatra, reported Penicillium brevicaule to be the principal 

 mold concerned with the preparation of "Ontjom" from ground nuts, and 

 "Tempeh" from soybeans. 



Christensen and Moses (1945) reported Scopidariopsis brevicaulis to be 

 capable of rapid delamination of yellow birch plywood when either casein 

 or soybean glue was used. Incorporation of 5 per cent sodium trichloro- 

 phenate in the glue prevented any weakening of the glued joints in acceler- 

 ated tests running for 26 days. 



Some strains of Scopidariopsis brevicaulis produce a substantial amount 

 of proteolytic enzymes. Ayres and Niedercorn, in 1942, obtained a patent 

 covering the use of such cultures. 



Pathogenicity 



Scopidariopsis represents a fairly common cause of onychomycosis, with 

 nails commonly becoming brittle, thickened, and white. Cases have been 



