The Ascigerous Stage of Blastomyces Dermatitidis

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Abstract
SUMMARY Ajellomyces dermatitidis, the perfect form of Blastomyces dermatitidis, was found to have characteristics typical of the Gymnoascaceae. Ajellomyces is distinguished from the other genera in this family by the development of thick-walled, closely coiled spiraled hyphae that radiate from a common center in the cleistothecium. The spirals give rise to lateral hyphae that either branch repeatedly to form characteristic, irregularly shaped cells or that give rise to clusters of asci. This fungus was shown to be heterothallic. Successful mating of strains isolated from people with those obtained from dogs indicates that the isolates belong to the same species. Further evidence that there is only one species of the pathogen was given through successful pairing of strains isolated from patients living in widely scattered geographical locations. Preliminary experiments with 12 monoascospore cultures showed that they varied widely in pathogenicity.