PENICILLIUM 151 



pecans, Brazil nuts, and chestnuts. Aspergillus glaitciis occurs 

 on stale bread and on gloves, shoes, or soiled clothes that are 

 stored under conditions of high relative humidity. Aspergillus 

 oryzae is utilized in the saccharification of rice starch in making 

 alcohol. It is also used, as is ^. niger, in commercial production 

 of citric acid and other organic acids. Aspergillus jinuigatiis, A. 

 flavus, A. niger, and A. nidiilans occur within the human ear, 

 causing otomycosis. Aspergillus jinnigatiis causes involvement 

 of the lungs of persons occupied as hair combers or feather dress- 

 ers or employed in force-feeding fowls or preparing furs for 

 clothing. The same organism causes pneumonic symptoms in 

 canaries, grouse, and other birds, appearing at times in epidemic 

 proportions. 



Penicillium. There are about 600 named species of Penicil- 

 lium, many of which are synonymous. Thom (1930) would re- 

 duce the number of species to less than 200. These organisms 

 are commonly known as "blue mold" or "green mold" and are 

 universally present on decaying organic matter. The conidio- 

 phores have the appearance of tiny brooms, with chains of 

 conidia as the tips of the brooms. The branches of the broom 

 divide and redivide several times and terminate in verticels of 

 sterigmata. The sterigmata, because of their bottle-shape, are 

 termed phialides. The conidia adhere in long chains, sometimes 

 of 100 or more elements. 



Sexual reproduction. Bref eld's (1874) account of ascocarpic 

 development in Penicillium, presumably P. glauciim, has been 

 verified in essential details by subsequent investigations. Pairs of 

 short hyphae spirally coiled about each other are the antheridia 

 and ascogonia. These are invested by yellowish sclerotia con- 

 stituted of three or four layers of cells. Three kinds of hyphal 

 elements make up the sclerotial interior: (1) large septate hy- 

 phae, the ascogonia; (2) ascogenous hyphae with short lateral 

 branches originating from the ascogonia; and (3) very slender 

 hyphae that Brefeld thought functioned to nourish the asci. 

 Dodge (1933) observed these hyphal types in P. brejeldianiim 

 but found that asci may also arise from the tips of the slender 

 hyphae. The cells of the ascogenous hyphae swell to become 

 asci, and for this reason the asci have the appearance of being in 

 monilioid chains. In mounts made by crushing cleistothecia, ag- 

 gregates of asci may be readily obtained. 



