Black Whisker Mold

Common Names The Black Whisker Mold The Smoky Grey Mold. 

A saprophyte, occasionally to frequently seen on the straws of an inadequately pasteurized compost on wooden trays rarely spreading to the casing soil sometimes contaminating grain cultures and seldom seen on agar. In nature Dorafomyces is a major constituent of a soil s microflora. 

Medium Through Which Contamination Is Spread Primarily an airborne contaminant secondarily transmitted through spent compost and left over debris. 

Methods of Control Air filtration correct preparation and pasteurization of compost and adherence to a strict schedule of hygiene in the laboratory and growing room. Whenever a room becomes contaminated with this fungus, a thorough cleaning is in order, particularly any trays that harbored this rapidly growing contaminant. The most common source of this fungus is spent compost or newly Turned soils. 

Microscopic Characteristics Hyphae, conidiophores and conidia darkly pigmented. Conidio-phores are single or aligned as compacted vertical assemblages of hyphae that variously diverge near the apex into short chains of dry, ovoid, unicellular spores in a PeniciHium-Wke fashion. 

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Figure 201 Drawing of the sporulating structure of Doratomyces (Stysanus), the Black Whisker Mold.

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