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Mobile ViewENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS - INSPECT, TEST, REMEDY ACCEPTABLE MOLD LEVEL ACTION GUIDE - WHAT TO DO ABOUT INDOOR MOLD ACTIVITY of MOLD in BUILDINGS AIRBORNE MOLD SPORE COUNT ACCURACY AIRBORNE PARTICLE ANALYSIS METHODS ALLERGEN TESTS for BUILDINGS ALLERGENS in BUILDINGS, RECOGNIZING ALLERGY & MOLD IAQ PRODUCTS ALLERGY TESTS for PEOPLE ALLERGY TEST ACCURACY ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION IN BUILDINGS ATTIC MOLD BASEMENT MOLD BASEMENT MOLD WATER IMPACT BATHROOM MOLD BROWN HAIRY BATHROOM MOLD BIBLIOGAPHY for ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, MOLD, IAQ BIOGAS PRODUCTION & USE BIOLOGICAL POLLUTANTS BLACK MOLD, HARMLESS COSMETIC BLACK MOLD, TOXIC & ALLERGENIC BLEACHING MOLD, Advice about Bisphenol-A, BPA BLEACHING MOLD, Advice about BOOK MOLD, Moldy Book Cleaning BOOKSTORE - ENVIRONMENTAL CACTUS FUNGI / MOLD CAR MOLD CONTAMINATION CARPET DUST IDENTIFICATION CARPET MOLD CONTAMINATION CARPET PADDING ASBESTOS, MOLD, ODORS CARPET STAIN DIAGNOSIS CARPET & other STAIN TESTS CARPET TEST PROCEDURE CARPETING & INDOOR AIR QUALITY CARPETING, SELECTION & INSTALLATION CAT DANDER in BUILDINGS CLEARANCE INSPECTIONS - MOLD CLEANUP EFFLORESCENCE, Salts & White / Brown Deposits FIBERGLASS INSULATION MOLD FIND MOLD, ESSENTIAL STEPS FIND MOLD in BUILDINGS, HOW TO FLOODS & MOLD CLEAN/PREVENT FLOOD DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, SAFETY & CLEANUP FLOODS IN BUILDINGS-mold FUNGICIDAL SPRAY & SEALANT USE GUIDE GAS EXPOSURE EFFECTS, TOXIC GAS DETECTION & MEASUREMENT HOUSE DUST ANALYSIS HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS HIDDEN MOLD, HOW TO FIND HUMIDITY CONTROL & TARGETS INDOORS INDOOR AIR HAZARDS TABLE INDOOR AIR QUALITY & HOUSE TIGHTNESS INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE INDOOR AIR QUALITY METHODS COMPARED INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT INSULATION MOLD ITCHY FABRICS LABORATORY SERVICES LAB PROCEDURES MICROSCOPE TECHNIQUES LEAD POISONING HAZARDS GUIDE Legionella Legionnaires' Disease Legionella BACTERIA & HVAC Equipment LP & Natural Gas Safety Hazards MEDIA BLASTING for MOLD REMOVAL METHANE GAS SOURCES MICROSCOPE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY MILDEW in BUILDINGS ? 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What does mold look like under the microscope? These mold spores and their photographs (both on site and under the microscope) have been collected in the U.S., Spain, Mexico, France, as well as in other countries. These are aerobiology laboratory photos of mold under the microscope. Also see LAB PROCEDURES MICROSCOPE TECHNIQUES. InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers nor with topics or services discussed at this website.© Copyright 2012 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use page top links to major topics or use links at the left of each page to navigate within topics and documents at this website. Green links show where you are in a document series or at this website. MOLD BY MICROSCOPE - What mold looks like under the light microscope
In this article we provide lab photographs of mold under the microscope. The photo at page top shows Stachybotrys chartarum mold spores under the microscope, and next to them is a photo of the Stachybotrys spore-producing structure or conidiophore. Other photographs and articles at this website will help you find and recognize problematic toxic or allergenic mold in buildings. Nearly all of our mold spore photographs shown at this mold spore identification assistance page are from field samples collected in buildings. What makes these photographs helpful is that they are "real world" examples of mold spore occurrence, including the surrounding debris and sometimes rough growth patterns of mold spores that occur in situ in buildings. Mold grown in the laboratory or on cultures is often very crisp, beautiful, and perhaps more easy to identify. But the actual physical structures of mold growth for a given genera and species may vary significantly depending on the material on which the mold is growing - its food. Photographs of mold spores under the microscope shown here are in that sense, more "natural" than those obtained from culture. Directories of 6 atlases or indices of building mold
Photographs of Mold Under the MicroscopeMold spore photographs are arranged alphabetically here. For example, if you are looking for what Stachybotrys chartarum spores and growth structures or conidiophores look like under the microscope, just scroll down to the "S" section of our identification photographs of mold under the microscope. Index to Building Mold Genera/Species in This DocumentA - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - QR - S - T - U - V - WXYZ AAcremonium like Mold Spore Photographs
Arthrinium sp. mold spore photographsArthrinium fungal spores (in close-up at 1200x) form group of at least twenty species, some of which are ovate or lemon-shaped. Possible examples of A. phaeospermum are shown below. This fungus is often confused with the ubiquitous Chaetomium sp. fungal spore when the latter is not fully hydrated. Look for not a fold in the spore (dessicated) but a hyaline band at the junction of the two sides, and look for the birth scar (bottom of the spore at below right) - that's an Arthrinium sp. spore not Chaetomium sp. [Thanks our instructors, mycologists Dr. Harriet Burge and Dr. John Haines.] Chaetomium sp. is an Ascomycete, born in groups of 8, and without a birth scar as it emerges from a perethicium not by growing on a fungal hypha. And the center fold on Arthrinium will extend pretty much to the ends of the spore.
Photographs of Aspergillus sp. mold spores under the microscope Aspergillus niger culture, Penicillium culture, Penicillium spores - Aspergillus and Penicillium spores are difficult to differentiate when they are found in air that you may see them reported in test results as "Pen/Asp". Watch out: Most Pen/Asp spores are round, hyaline (colorless) and small and lack surface features to aid in their precise identification by microscope when the spores are found alone, or in air samples (and if not in spore chains). In that case the spores may not even be identified as (potentially harmful) molds and may just be called "amerospores" in the lab report. But when these spores appear in chains (as that's how they are born) they should not be labeled as "amerospores", and at least some of these airborne spores in the Aspergillus/Penicillium group can be identified from the spore alone, however, such as Aspergillus niger Also see our lab photographs of dense surface growth of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus fumigatus side by side, in the same surface sample, but not quite intermixed. Aureobasidium pullulans
We find lots of the fungus spores shown above, Aureobasidium pullulans, a black yeast fungus, growing on wet or damp wood in buildings, especially on plywood roof sheathing in poorly-vented building attics. This yeast-like fungus is also often found on caulk or damp window frames in bathrooms. Aureobasidium may be pink or black in color. More detail is at MOLD ATLAS & PARTICLES INDEX. And we discuss this mold further at Recognize Harmless Black Mold. BBiolaris-Drechslera sp. mold spore photographsLab microscopic photographs of an Bipolaris-Drechslera spores are provided below. In lab reports Bipolaris sp. and Drechslera sp. fungal spores are often grouped together as a class because of physical similarity.
CCeratocystis/Ophistoma - the Ophistomoid Cosmetic Black Sapstain or Bluestain Molds on Lumber
Laboratory microscopic photographs of Ceratocystis/Ophistoma type mold are a bit tricky in surface samples such as collected from moldy lumber, because usually this mold is dry, often encysted, and because it is not likely to be growing on an indoor surface, the sample may lack clear identifying particles or structures. Here at above right we show a sketch of the perithecium, ascospores, and conidia of Endoconodiphora coerulescens from the July-August 1953 issue of Mycologia Vol XLV No. 4. Our photograph at above left shows a fungus found under a basement stairwell that we classified as Ceratocystis/Ophistoma, and in this photograph you can see an enlarged closeup of mold fragments from that sample. Watch out: Because this dark colored fungal growth appears "black" on wood surfaces, scaring some folks into unnecessary and costly "toxic black mold remediation" projects, we discuss the cosmetic Ceratocystis/Ophistoma mold group in detail at Recognize Harmless Black Mold. Chaetomium sp. mold spore photographsLab microscopic photographs of an Chaetomium spores: Chaetomium sp. (C. globosum, C. aureum, and others) are very common indoor molds found especially where drywall or other paper covered products have been wet. Chaetomium sp. (photo below left) is an Ascomycete and is ubiquitous in water damaged buildings, especially on drywall paper. We find Chaetomium fungal growth often co-existing with Stachybotrys sp./ S. chartarum (photo below right - the S. chartarum are the ovate black spores) Where Chaetomium mold growth has been found indoors in spore clusters like this it is probably appropriate to investigate the building leak history and to remain alert for the presence of other indoor mold reservoirs.
Watch out: What Chaetomium fungal spores look like in the microscope depends a lot on how they are prepared (what mountant chemicals) and the extent of spore hydration. So Chaetomium that is not well hydrated remains "folded" to produce a center furrow that can cause it to be mistaken for Arthrinium sp. (a mistake we see in Grant Smith's execllent book of mold photos) and other molds. Our Chaetomiium sp. photo at below left illustrates both hydrated and under-hydrated spores. At below right we see a close-up of a few Chaetomium spores at 1200x via our Polam microscope.
Curvularia sp. mold spore photographs
Curvularia mold spores at above left may not be looking their best in this field photo but this is what you're likely to see at the microscope. The Curvularia sp. at above right was in better condition, showing its attachment scar as well. DDrechslera sp. mold spore photographsEEpicoccum sp. mold spore photographs
FFuglio septica mold & mold spore spore photographs
Fuglio septica is shown under the stereoscopic microscope (less than 100x) at above left, while Fuglio septica mold spores are shown at above right. This fungus is affectionately called "dog vomit mold" by some field investigators as when found growing outdoors on bark chips that's about what it looks like. We do not normally find this mold growing indoors. GGanoderma sp. mold spore photographs
Gonadobotryum mold spore microphotographsHIJKLMMeruliporia Incrassata - "Poria" "House Eating Fungus" Mold Microphotographs
NNigrospora sp. mold spore photographsNOOidium (Mildew) sp. mold spore photographsPPenicillium sp. mold spore photographsPericonia sp. mold spore photographs
Phoma sp. mold spore photographs
Puffball mold spore photographsQRSSmut spore photographs
Stachybotrys sp. / Stachybotrys chartarum black mold spore photographs
Stemonitis mold & mold spore photographs
Stemonitis mold & photographs of stemonitis mold spores common growing indoors on wet oriented strand board. TTorula sp. mold spore micro-photographs
UUlocladium mold spore micro-photographsUlocladium sp. is often confused with similar looking versions of Stemphylium sp. and with some species of Alternaria sp. particularly as immature Alternaria spores can look like the simpler ovate cross-septated Ulocladium chartarum. And worse there are species of Ulocladium (U. alternariae - cf Ellis) that look like (and are even named after Altenaria sp.). The differentiation between species of Alternaria and Ulocladium is not difficult once you've been instructed by a mycologist. The "tail" you see on the Alternaria-like mold spores still attached to hyphae (photo below right) comprises the attachment point for the spore to its hyphae. The "tail" on an Alternaria spore is at the opposite end of the mold from its attachment. That is, an Alternaria spore is attached to its hyphae at its larger "head" end, not by its tail. Ulocladium chartarum (below-left). Ulocladium sp. (below right).
Below are microphotographs of U. chartarum grown in culture by the author [DF].
We have almost 900,000 photomicrographs of mold spores and pollen grains - more are coming to this website. If you need to see a specific image, contact us. Content Use / Reproduction Policy - it's OK to reproduce web articles in non-commercial-use printed form only, do not make electronic copies. MAKING ELECTRONIC COPIES OF our WEBSITE CONTENTS (such as copying our pages, content from our pages, or our graphics to another website or into email) IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED - this website is © protected material, all rights reserved. VWXYZ. Questions & Answers regarding this articleQuestions & answers about what building mold looks at under the light microscope at magnifications from 10x to 1200x. . Ask a Question or Search InspectAPediaHTML Comment Box is loading comments...
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