M. racemosus possesses the ability to exhibit multiple morphology (mainly, filamentous and spherical shape) to withstand various environmental stress.
This has given it ability to survive many conditions and it has a worldwide distribution, reported most frequently in Europe as well as Americas.
In the tropics, it has been seen at higher altitudes.
While the species is primarily soil-based, it has been shown to exist elsewhere such as in horse manure, plant remains, grains, vegetables and nuts.
Typically, it is often seen on plant-based materials such as soft fruit, fruit juice and marmalade but it has also been isolated from non-plant sources like soft camembert cheese.
M. racemosus has also been isolated from the human gut microbiome of non-obese individuals.
It is the most common mould found in the floor dust in houses and is largely considered as an indoor mould.
M. racemosus is uniquely known for its ability to display multiple morphologies but most of the time, studies are made based on the dimorphic form of the species.
It is a facultative anaerobic zygomycote and fast-growing, conferring it ability to survive in multiple conditions/locations all over the world.
M. racemosus possesses the ability to biosynthesize chitin and chitosan, which has been proposed as a mechanism supporting the ability of the fungus to switch between the yeast and the mould phases.
Genomic analysis of M. racemosus has revealed genes similar to human RAS genes, and it is proposed that these genes help with germination and dimorphism.
Protein kinase A (PKA) genes such as pkaR are highly also expressed during dimorphic shift.
M. racemosus possesses the ability to exhibit multiple morphology (mainly, filamentous and spherical shape) to withstand various environmental stress. This has given it ability to survive many conditions and it has a worldwide distribution, reported most frequently in Europe as well as Americas. In the tropics, it has been seen at higher altitudes. While the species is primarily soil-based, it has been shown to exist elsewhere such as in horse manure, plant remains, grains, vegetables and nuts. Typically, it is often seen on plant-based materials such as soft fruit, fruit juice and marmalade but it has also been isolated from non-plant sources like soft camembert cheese. M. racemosus has also been isolated from the human gut microbiome of non-obese individuals. It is the most common mould found in the floor dust in houses and is largely considered as an indoor mould.M. racemosus is uniquely known for its ability to display multiple morphologies but most of the time, studies are made based on the dimorphic form of the species. It is a facultative anaerobic zygomycote and fast-growing, conferring it ability to survive in multiple conditions/locations all over the world. M. racemosus possesses the ability to biosynthesize chitin and chitosan, which has been proposed as a mechanism supporting the ability of the fungus to switch between the yeast and the mould phases. Genomic analysis of M. racemosus has revealed genes similar to human RAS genes, and it is proposed that these genes help with germination and dimorphism. Protein kinase A (PKA) genes such as pkaR are highly also expressed during dimorphic shift.
Mucor racemosus