Talaromyces pinophilus

STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGY

Talaromyces pinophilus, formerly known as Penicillium pinophilum, is fungus that forms fruiting bodies made up of tightly interwoven hyphae (ascocarps). Depending on the host, T. pinophilus may exhibit parasitic or growth-promoting effects on plants.

TRANSMISSION AND DISEASE

Some species of Talaromyces (Penicillium) are known to cause infections in humans, specifically the immunocompromised. One such species, Talaromyces marneffei, was the cause of the fourth most common AIDS-related opportunistic infection during the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Thailand. Most Talaromyces (Penicillium) species, however, are known to cause fruit rot.

DISINFECTION

Talaromyces (Penicillium) species are susceptible to surface disinfection by UV, chlorine dioxide, and free chlorine from hypochlorite. A study showed over a 5-log reduction of some Penicillium species using chlorine dioxide.

NOTES

T. pinophilus was originally isolated from a radio set in Papua New Guinea.

REFERENCE(S)

Ismail R. Abdel-Rahim, Kamal A.M. Abo-Elyousr, Talaromyces pinophilus strain AUN-1 as a novel mycoparasite of Botrytis cinerea, the pathogen of onion scape and umbel blights, Microbiological Research, Volumes 212–213, 2018, Pages 1-9, ISSN 0944-5013, https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0944501317311278.

Masja Nierop Groot, Tjakko Abee, Hermien van Bokhorst-van de Veen, Inactivation of conidia from three Penicillium spp. isolated from fruit juices by conventional and alternative mild preservation technologies and disinfection treatments, Food Microbiology, Volume 81, 2019, Pages 108-114, ISSN 0740-0020, https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0740002017311401.

Sun, B. D., Chen, A. J., Houbraken, J., Frisvad, J. C., Wu, W. P., Wei, H. L., Zhou, Y. G., Jiang, X. Z., & Samson, R. A. (2020). New section and species in Talaromyces. MycoKeys, 68, 75–113. https://mycokeys.pensoft.net/article/52092/.