trichophytosis
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''Trichophyton'' is a
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...
, which includes the
parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...
varieties that cause
tinea Dermatophytosis, also known as ringworm, is a fungal infection of the skin. Typically it results in a red, itchy, scaly, circular rash. Hair loss may occur in the area affected. Symptoms begin four to fourteen days after exposure. Multiple ar ...
, including
athlete's foot Athlete's foot, known medically as ''tinea pedis'', is a common skin infection of the feet caused by a fungus. Signs and symptoms often include itching, scaling, cracking and redness. In rare cases the skin may blister. Athlete's foot fungus ...
,
ringworm Dermatophytosis, also known as ringworm, is a fungal infection of the skin. Typically it results in a red, itchy, scaly, circular rash. Hair loss may occur in the area affected. Symptoms begin four to fourteen days after exposure. Multiple ar ...
,
jock itch Jock may refer to: Common meanings * Jock (stereotype), a North American term for a stereotypical male athlete * Jock, a derogatory term for Scottish people mostly used by the English * Short for jockstrap, an item of male protective undergarm ...
, and similar infections of the nail, beard, skin and scalp. Trichophyton fungi are
mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures certain fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of spores containing fungal secondary metabolites. The spores are the dispersal units of the fungi. Not ...
s characterized by the development of both smooth-walled macro- and microconidia. Macroconidia are mostly borne laterally directly on the hyphae or on short pedicels, and are thin- or thick-walled,
clavate This glossary of entomology describes terms used in the formal study of insect species by entomologists. A–C A synthetic chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide, toxic to vertebrates. Though i ...
to fusiform, and range from 4 to 8 by 8 to 50 μm in size. Macroconidia are few or absent in many species. Microconidia are spherical, pyriform to clavate or of irregular shape, and range from 2 to 3 by 2 to 4 μm in size.


Species and their habitat preference

According to current classification, the genus includes anthropophilic and zoophilic species.
Anthropophilic In parasitology, anthropophilia, from the Greek ἅνθρωπος (anthrōpos, "human being") and φιλία (philia, "friendship" or "love"), is a preference of a parasite or dermatophyte for humans over other animals.Braun-Falco, Otto (2000). ' ...
fungi prefer to infect humans.
Zoophilic Zoophily, or zoogamy, is a form of pollination whereby pollen is transferred by animals, usually by invertebrates but in some cases vertebrates, particularly birds and bats, but also by other animals. Zoophilous species frequently have evolved ...
fungi prefer to infect animals other than humans. Humans and animals are
natural reservoir In infectious disease ecology and epidemiology, a natural reservoir, also known as a disease reservoir or a reservoir of infection, is the population of organisms or the specific environment in which an infectious pathogen naturally lives and r ...
s for parasitic or dermatophytic fungi. Other accepted species; * '' Trichophyton ajelloi'' * '' Trichophyton areolatum'' * '' Trichophyton balcaneum'' * '' Trichophyton batonrougei'' * '' Trichophyton brumptii'' * '' Trichophyton candelabrum'' * '' Trichophyton cerebriforme'' * '' Trichophyton circonvolutum'' * '' Trichophyton denticulatum'' * '' Trichophyton depressum'' * '' Trichophyton farinulentum'' * '' Trichophyton fischeri'' * '' Trichophyton flavescens'' * '' Trichophyton floriforme'' * '' Trichophyton fluviomuniense'' * '' Trichophyton fuligineum'' * '' Trichophyton glabrum'' * '' Trichophyton gloriae'' * '' Trichophyton gourvilii'' * '' Trichophyton guzzonii'' * '' Trichophyton immergens'' * '' Trichophyton indicum'' * '' Trichophyton kanei'' * '' Trichophyton krajdenii'' * '' Trichophyton kuryangei'' * '' Trichophyton longifusum'' * '' Trichophyton louisianicum'' * '' Trichophyton mariatii'' * '' Trichophyton megninii'' * '' Trichophyton milochevitchii'' * '' Trichophyton multicolor'' * '' Trichophyton oceanicum'' * '' Trichophyton ochoterenai'' * '' Trichophyton olexae'' * '' Trichophyton pedis'' * '' Trichophyton plurizoniforme'' * '' Trichophyton pratense'' * '' Trichophyton proliferans'' * '' Trichophyton pseudotonsurans'' * '' Trichophyton purpureum'' * '' Trichophyton radicosum'' * '' Trichophyton raubitschekii'' * '' Trichophyton rotundum'' * '' Trichophyton sabouraudii'' * '' Trichophyton sarkisovii'' * '' Trichophyton spadix'' * '' Trichophyton teheraniense'' * '' Trichophyton tenuishyphum'' * '' Trichophyton vanbreuseghemii''


Mating and meiosis

''Trichophyton mentagrophytes'' (Family Arthrodermataceae, Genus Trichophyton) is capable of both
mating In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite- sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. ''Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reprod ...
and
meiosis Meiosis (; , since it is a reductional division) is a special type of cell division of germ cells in sexually-reproducing organisms that produces the gametes, such as sperm or egg cells. It involves two rounds of division that ultimately r ...
.


Effect on humans

The
anthropophilic In parasitology, anthropophilia, from the Greek ἅνθρωπος (anthrōpos, "human being") and φιλία (philia, "friendship" or "love"), is a preference of a parasite or dermatophyte for humans over other animals.Braun-Falco, Otto (2000). ' ...
varieties cause forms of
dermatophytosis Dermatophytosis, also known as ringworm, is a fungal infection of the skin. Typically it results in a red, itchy, scaly, circular rash. Hair loss may occur in the area affected. Symptoms begin four to fourteen days after exposure. Multiple a ...
, that is, fungal infection of the skin. They are keratinophilic: they feed on the
keratin Keratin () is one of a family of structural fibrous proteins also known as ''scleroproteins''. Alpha-keratin (α-keratin) is a type of keratin found in vertebrates. It is the key structural material making up scales, hair, nails, feathers, ho ...
in nails, hair, and dead skin. ''Trichophyton concentricum'' causes "Malabar itch", a skin infection consisting of an eruption of a number of concentric rings of overlapping scales forming papulosquamous patches. ''Trichophyton rubrum'' and ''Trichophyton interdigitale'' cause athlete's foot (tinea pedis), toenail fungal infections (a.k.a. tinea unguium, a.k.a. onychomycosis), crotch itch (a.k.a. tinea cruris), and
ringworm Dermatophytosis, also known as ringworm, is a fungal infection of the skin. Typically it results in a red, itchy, scaly, circular rash. Hair loss may occur in the area affected. Symptoms begin four to fourteen days after exposure. Multiple ar ...
(a misnomer, as there is no worm involved; it is also known as tinea corporis). ''Trichophyton schoenleinii'' cause favus (tinea capitis),''Trichophyton mentagrophytes var. mentagrophytes'' and ''Trichophyton verrucosum'' cause
kerion Kerion or kerion celsi is an acute inflammatory process which is the result of the host's response to a fungal ringworm infection of the hair follicles of the scalp (occasionally the beard) that can be accompanied by secondary bacterial infection( ...
(violent reaction results from infection with an animal dermatophytes). Fungal folliculitis is a rare hair follicle infection induced overwhelmingly by ''Trichophyton'', which can be spread
zoonotic A zoonosis (; plural zoonoses) or zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen (an infectious agent, such as a bacterium, virus, parasite or prion) that has jumped from a non-human (usually a vertebrate) to a human. ...
ally. The fungi can easily spread to other areas of the body as well and to the host's home environs (socks, shoes, clothes, showers, bathtubs, counters, floors, carpets, etc.). They can be transmitted by direct contact, by contact with infested particles (of dead skin, nails, hair) shed by the host, and by contact with the fungi's spores. These fungi thrive in warm moist dark environments, such as in the dead upper layers of skin between the toes of a sweaty foot inside a tightly enclosed shoe, or in dead skin particles on the wet floor of a communal (shared) shower. Their spores are extremely difficult to eliminate, and spread everywhere. When the hyphae of the fungi burrow into the skin and release enzymes to digest keratin, they may irritate nerve endings and cause the host to
itch Itch (also known as pruritus) is a sensation that causes the desire or reflex to scratch. Itch has resisted many attempts to be classified as any one type of sensory experience. Itch has many similarities to pain, and while both are unpleasant ...
, which may elicit the scratch reflex, which directs the host to scratch. Scratching directly transfers fungi and dead skin particles that are infested with the fungi to the fingers and under the finger nails. From there they can be transmitted to other parts of the host's body when the host touches or scratches those. Scratching also damages skin layers, making it easier for the fungi to spread at the site of the infection. If the fungi and infested debris are not washed from the fingers and fingernails soon enough, the fungi can also infect the skin of the fingers (
tinea manuum Tinea manuum is a fungal infection of the hand, mostly a type of dermatophytosis, often part of two feet-one hand syndrome. There is diffuse scaling on the palms or back of usually one hand and the palmer creases appear more prominent. When both ...
), and burrow underneath and into the material of the fingernails ( tinea unguium). If left untreated, the fungi continue to grow and spread.


Treatments

A variety of zoophilic and anthropophilic dermatophyte treatments have varying levels of success based on species type. Treatments may take up to six months.


References


External links


Doctor FungusMycology Unit at the Adelaide Women's and Children's Hospital
{{Taxonbar, from=Q310925 Parasitic fungi Arthrodermataceae Cat diseases Eurotiomycetes genera