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Wangiella
(Exophiala) dermatitidis |
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What
is Wangiella dermatitidis?
Wangiella
dermatitidis (aka Exophiala dermatitidis) is a dematiacious
(black) fungus known for causing a variety of infections known
collectively as "phaeohyphomycosis". It is a
monotypic species in the form-phylum
Deuteromycota. What
distinguishes it as a dematiacious fungus is the black
melanin pigment
associated with the cell walls
of its vegetative and reproductive structures --
yeast, hyphae and spores. Wangiella is
also a polymorphic organism, taking on a variety of cell types, which include the typical
budding yeast cell, isodiametric cell, moniliforme hypha, true hypha, and conidia
(see Szaniszlo 2006). It grows as
a yeast in rich liquid medium, but has been shown to
convert to other forms by changing growth conditions.
Phaeohyphomycosis, in the broad sense, sometimes
is said to include several
additional human syndromes,
which include black-grained mycetoma,
chromoblastomycosis, tinea nigra, black piedra, keratitis, and onychomycosis.
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