The Journal of Indian Botany/Volume 1/January 1920/Contribution to the Study of the Indian Aspergilli.
CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF THE
INDIAN ASPERGILLI
By
Captain Froilano de Mello,
Professor of the Medical College and Director of the Bacteriological Laboratory, Nova Goa, Portuguese India.
Aspergillus (Sterigmatocystis) polychromus Sp. Nov.
Introduction. It is a very common fact that in India, specially in the rainy season, the culture media in laboratories are covered by a large number of moulds belonging to the most varying genera. In bacteriological investigations, these growths do not matter much, but the difficulties arise when one is dealing with cultures made for the study of human or animal mycoses, a field of research which in India has not yet been fully explored.
The subject of my investigations is the genus "Aspergillus" and its ally "Sterigmatocystis". A systematic study of Indian Aspergilli has not yet been made and it is hoped that this short contribution may not be without value towards this mycologic investigation.
The species I am now describing is quite a new species and it can be easily recognized both by its macroscopic and microscopic characters. In Nova Goa I have, up to the present, identified the following species:—
A. (St.) niger Cramer 1859.
A. (sensu stricto) herbariorum Wiggers 1780.
A. (St.) sulphurous Fresenius 18G3.
A. (sensu stricto) orizoac Ahlburg 1876.
Four other species, one white, two yellow and one green, are now under investigation and I will be very thankful if scientists working in India will be kind enough to send me cultures of Aspergilli found in different parts of India.
This study would remain incomplete but for the excellent monograph on Aspergilli by Whemer. This work was, very kindly, placed at my disposal by Dr. B. J. Butler, Imperial Mycologist, to whom my best thanks are due.
Origin of the Culture. This species was found in August, 1919, contaminating two Erlenmeyer flasks containing Endo's medium and plain agar. One of the cultures was grey, slightly brownish, the other had a light chocolate colour. On cultivating the fungus from these two sources, I was able to identify both these cultures as belonging to a same species. The colour of the fungus changes, but variations are always uniform according to the age of the culture.
General Colour of the Culture. The colour of this fungus is white platre during the first 24 hours; on the second day a slight greyish tone is noticed, on the fourth the culture assumes a light marine blue, on the sixth it becomes greyish blue, on the 8th the greyish tone is predominant and the culture presents a beautiful gris souris colour. From the first to the second week the colour changes into a deep brownish, passing through a slightly violet tone. Later on the culture is of a deep chocolate colour, which two months later becomes very clear.
Morphology and Mycological appearance—The morphology of the fungus is the same as noted in the general description of the fungi belonging to these genera. The following elements call forth our attention:—
Coaidiophores—length maxim. 650 micr., minim, 112; average taken on 35 conidiophores 275 micr.; breadth 3 to 6 micr.; wall thickness 0, 5 to 1 micr.
Columellae almost always ovoid and claviform, very seldom spherical. When old, they show a brownish pigmentation, more concentrated in the superior pole. Diameter of the spherical type 8 to 15 micr. Ovoid : length maxim. 25 minim. 10, average taken on 4-1 columellae, 13 micr. ; breadth maxim. 20, minim. 4, average taken on the same number 10, 5 micr.
Sterigmata very densely inserted, generally on the anterior : t of the columella, rarely radiated. In old cultures a deep brownish pigmentation is noticed. Primary Steriymata ovoid or claviform, 5 to 10 micr. long, 3 to 4 micr. broad. Secondary Sterigmata ovoid or lanceolated 5 to 8 micr., long, 3 to 4 micr. broad.
Conidia round, finely punctuated, bluish green at first, light brown at a latter stage, finally chocolate colour; 2, 5 to 5 micr.
Heads (Columella + Sterigmata + Conidia) round and elliptical. Diameter of the round forms; maxim. 55, minim. 36, average 42 micr. Dimensions of the elliptical forms : length maxim. 80, minim 10 average taken on 20 heads 45 micr.
Perithecium yellow with a greenish tone, found only in old cultures aged at least two months; 30 to 35 micr. of diameter.
Cultural characters. Plain agar. Good development, the cultures having the following coloration : 48 hours, white platre; 3 days greyish; 5 days, slight bluish tone; 9 days, gris souris; 2 weeks, chocolate brown ; 3 weeks, deep chocolate ; 2 months, clear chocolate; 3 months, idem.
Glucosed sabouraud — Idem, very good development, the colours being more vivid. Maltosed sabouraud—Very weak development; colours idem.
Endo's medium—Idem as on glucosed sabouraud.
Lemon—48 hours, weak development, clear blue; 3 days, greyish blue; I week, deep blue with a greyish tone; 2 to 3 weeks, idem.
Bread paste—48 hours, weak development, blue greyish green; 1 week, idem; 4 days, clear green; 2 to 3 weeks, dirty green.
Banana—3 days blue outremer. good development, 5 days, idem; 2 to 3 weeks idem with a greenish tone.
Rice; paste—1 week, poor development, of white slightly green colour; 2 to 3 weeks, good development of the same colour.
Carrot—3 days, good development, yellowish green; 5 days, idem; 2 to 3 weeks, green with yellowish tone.
Potato—3 days s good development, white slightly green; 1 week, green straw colour; 2 to 3 weeks, dark green.
Glycerinated potato—10 days, poor development, white colonies; 2 weeks, idem; 3 weeks slightly blue greyish; 1 month, deep grey.
Coagulated milk—The culture is blue slightly greenish, the greenish tone becoming predominant after 2 to 3 weeks.
Pineapple juice—48 hours, clear blue, isolated colonies fluctuating on the surface of the liquid; 3 days, idem, the colour being the same but with a slight greyish tone; 5 days, the colonies become confluent and form a very consistent membrane; 1 week, the same colour, the bluish tone becoming more pronounced; 10 days, greyish blue, 2 to 3 weeks, greyish to gris souris and the bluish tone changing into the greenish.
Mango juice—The colour of the culture is the same as in the pine, apple juiue, but the culture shows the form of a ring, strongly adhering to the wall of the tube.
Bouillon—48 hours, minute isolated colonies of white bluish colour, becoming greyish blue after 1 week and finally dark grey.
Glucosed bouillon—Idem, the colonies being more abundant and confluent and forming a membrane on the surface of the liquid.
Maltosed bouillon—48 hours, greyish blue membrane; 4 days, idem, the vegetative mycelium (inferior face) having the appearance of a gelatinous mass and a brownish yellow colour; 4 days, the grey tone becomes more pronounced; 3 weeks, dark grey with greenish tone.
Straw bouillon—idem without the final greenish tone.
Bouillon of vegetables—Idem, the mass of the vegetative mycelium has the same gelatinous appearance as in the maltosed bouillon.
Inoculations—One rabbit and one guinea-pig inoculated by intravenous injection remained healthy till the end of the experiment.
On account of the variations of the colour in the cultures of this fungus, I have named this species Aspergillus {Sterigmatocystis) polychromus My best thanks are due to my Assistant Dr. J. A. de Carmo Vaz, for valuable collaboration given to me in the course of this study.
Aspergillus (Sterigmatocystis) polichromus, species nova, fungus saprophiticus, ostendens, cultionis subjectus, coloris variationes secundum culcionis actatem uniforrnes, sclicet : albo-niveum colorem in nitio (24 horis), suaviter cinereum (2a. die), suaviter ceruleo (4a. die) et deinceps succesive cinereum, violaceum, ravum (post 2 hebdom.) aquiloalbum.
Elementa morphologica notabilia:—Conidiophora 601 (micr longa maxime, 112 minime, 275 medie:—Columellae generatim ovoides vel claviformes, ostendentes pigmentum aquilum superiori poloj in vetustate, 10 ad 25/* longae, 4 ad 20 latae, cum sterigmatibus primariis, sc. ovoid, vel lanceolat. 5 ad 10/a longis et 3 ad 4 latis; et secundariis sc. ovoid, vel lanceolat. 5 ad 8/* langis et 3 ad 4 latis; Conidiae rotundae 2, 5 ad 5/^ in ambitu:—Perithecia in cultionibus tantu veteris a 2 saltern mensibus invenmntur, 30 ad 35/^ longa, aliquantulum minus lata, cum ascis rotundis et in unoquoqu 4 ascosporis.