''Mucor'' is a
microbial genus of approximately 40 species of
molds in the family
Mucoraceae
The Mucoraceae are a family of fungi of the order Mucorales, characterized by having the thallus not segmented or ramified. Pathogenic genera include ''Absidia'', '' Apophysomyces'', ''Mucor'', '' Rhizomucor'', and ''Rhizopus''. According to a 2 ...
. Species are commonly found in
soil,
digestive system
The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller compon ...
s,
plant surfaces, some cheeses like
Tomme de Savoie
Tomme de Savoie is an uplandJoel Robuchon et al., ''Larousse Gastronomique'' (New York, New York: Clarkson Potter, 2001), page 1220. variety of Tomme cheese, specifically, one from Savoy in the French Alps. It is a mild, semi-firm cow's milk che ...
,
rotten vegetable matter and
iron oxide
Iron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. All are black magnetic solids. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of which ...
residue in the
biosorption Biosorption is a physiochemical process that occurs naturally in certain biomass which allows it to passively concentrate and bind contaminants onto its cellular structure. Biosorption can be defined as the ability of biological materials to accumul ...
process.
Description
Colonies of this fungal genus are typically white to beige or grey and fast-growing. Colonies on culture medium may grow to several centimeters in height. Older colonies become grey to brown in color due to the development of spores. The species 'Mucor' belongs to the microbial kingdom: Fungi.
''Mucor''
spores or sporangiospores can be simple or branched and form apical, globular
sporangia
A sporangium (; from Late Latin, ) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cy ...
that are supported and elevated by a column-shaped columella. ''Mucor'' species can be differentiated from molds of the genera ''
Absidia'', ''
Rhizomucor
''Rhizomucor'' is a genus of fungi in the family Lichtheimiaceae. The widespread genus contains six species. ''Rhizomucor parasiticus'', the species originally selected as the type, is now considered synonymous
A synonym is a word, morpheme ...
'', and ''
Rhizopus
''Rhizopus'' is a genus of common saprophytic fungi on plants and specialized parasites on animals. They are found in a wide variety of organic substances, including "mature fruits and vegetables", jellies, syrups, leather, bread, peanuts, and t ...
'' by the shape and insertion of the columella, and the lack of
stolon
In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...
s and
rhizoids. Some ''Mucor'' species produce
chlamydospore
A chlamydospore is the thick-walled large resting spore of several kinds of fungi, including Ascomycota such as '' Candida'', Basidiomycota such as '' Panus'', and various Mortierellales species. It is the life-stage which survives in unfavourable ...
s. They form mold with irregular non-septate hyphae branching at wide angles (>90°).
Reproduction
''Mucor mucedo'' (genus species) use asexual reproduction. When erect hyphal sporangiophores are formed, the tip of the sporangiophore swells to form a globose sporangium that contains