A New Dimorphic Fungus, Oidiodendron Kalrai: Morphological and Biochemical Characteristics

SUMMARY

The morphological and biochemical characteristics of new dimorphic fungus, Oidiodendron kalrai, are described. In filamentous form at room temperature, the growth consisted of chains of oval to round conidia arising from arborescent or unbranched conidiophores, occasional round to oval, one-or two-celled chlamydospores, and oval to pyriform microconidia arising directly from the septate hyphae. At 37 C in the yeast phase, it formed oval to ellipitical yeast cells and occasional arthrospores. The dimorphism in O. kalrai was temperature- and nutrition-dependent. The fungus showed a strong caseinolytic activity which was more pronounced in the mycelial form. Caseinolysis was more extensive and better defined at 37 than at 25 C.