''Penicillium crustosum'' is a blue-green or blue-grey mold that can cause food spoilage, particularly of protein-rich foods such as meats and cheeses. It is identified by its complex biseriate

conidiophore A conidium ( ; ), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (), is an asexual, non-motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word for dust, ('). They are also called mitospores due to the ...

s on which

phialide The phialide ( ; el, phialis, diminutive of phiale, a broad, flat vessel) is a flask-shaped projection from the vesicle (dilated part of the top of conidiophore) of certain fungi. It projects from the mycelium without increasing in length unless ...

s produce asexual spores. It can grow at fairly low temperatures (it is a

psychrophile Psychrophiles or cryophiles (adj. ''psychrophilic'' or ''cryophilic'') are extremophilic organisms that are capable of growth and reproduction in low temperatures, ranging from to . They have an optimal growth temperature at . They are found in ...

), and in low

water activity Water activity (''aw'') is the partial vapor pressure of water in a solution divided by the standard state partial vapor pressure of water. In the field of food science, the standard state is most often defined as pure water at the same tempe ...

environments. ''Penicillium crustosum'' produces

mycotoxin A mycotoxin (from the Greek μύκης , "fungus" and τοξίνη , "toxin") is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by organisms of kingdom Fungi and is capable of causing disease and death in both humans and other animals. The term 'mycotoxin' ...

s, most notoriously the

neurotoxic Neurotoxicity is a form of toxicity in which a biological, chemical, or physical agent produces an adverse effect on the structure or function of the central and/or peripheral nervous system. It occurs when exposure to a substance – specificall ...

penitrems, including the best known penitrem toxin,

penitrem A Penitrem A (tremortin) is an indole-diterpenoid mycotoxin produced by certain species of ''Aspergillus'', ''Claviceps'', and ''Penicillium'', which can be found growing on various plant species such as ryegrass. Penitrem A is one of many secondar ...

, and including penitrems A through G. Penitrem G has been shown to have insecticidal activity. In addition, ''P. crustosum'' can produce thomitrems A and E, and

roquefortine C Roquefortine C is a mycotoxin that belongs to a class of naturally occurring 2,5-diketopiperazines produced by various fungi, particularly species from the genus ''Penicillium''. It was first isolated from a strain of ''Penicillium roqueforti'', a ...

. Consumption of foods spoiled by this mold can cause transient neurological symptoms such as tremors. In dogs, symptoms can include vomiting, convulsion, tremors, ataxia, and

tachycardia Tachycardia, also called tachyarrhythmia, is a heart rate that exceeds the normal resting rate. In general, a resting heart rate over 100 beats per minute is accepted as tachycardia in adults. Heart rates above the resting rate may be normal ( ...

References

crustosum Fungi described in 1930 Taxa named by Charles Thom {{Eurotiomycetes-stub