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There are about 20 species of Periconia
sp. These species are usually found in soil, leaf spots,
dead herbaceous stems as well as sedges and rushes it
is almost associated with other species of fungus and
is usually disseminated through the way of dry spore
and wind. There have been rare cases of opportunist
or pathogens and their Potential toxin production still
remains unknown.
Although there have been allergic reactions
that have been studies, there is a likelihood of variations
these reactions when it comes to certain fungal antigens
and this can be in terms of minutes, hours and if delayed
it can take place. Fungal reactions are basically categorized
traditionally into four types namely, type I, II. III
and IV. It has however been proved that there are those
allergies that can be caused by more than one type of
allergens. There has been reported cases of hypersensitivity
pneumonitis that have been as a result of the combination
between Type I and III and in some cases in Type III
and IV.
Periconia sp is well known to grow
in indoor surfaces where fungi is commonly known to
grow. These include those areas that have water availability.
The surfaces that the fungi find an excellent abode
are those with paper products, jute and straw products,
wood, cork, books, ceiling tile, associated paper, gypsum
board, textiles, lumber and in painted walls.
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The aspects of growth for Periconia
sp in terms of colonial morphology are quite similar
to those Cladosporium although Periconia stays isolated
in this type of growth culture for specific reasons.
When it comes to spore trap recognition, there are those
species that will have distinguishable spore characteristics
that make it easy to identify the fungus. It is however
quite difficult to easily distinguish Periconia spores
from other categories of smuts, the unique smuts, not
forgetting myxomycetes as well as other brown spore
and round spore types.
The tape lift recognition is one of
the best ways for the identification of Periconia sp.
This basically involves the lifting of fungal elements
from the surface using a sticky tape. One can lift or
any of the present fungal structures that are available
to help in the identification of their genus. The identification
of the fungus may be partial pr even be identified on
a group level such as Myxomycetes, Basidiomycetes and
Penicillium/ Aspergilius.
There are instances where cultivation is required in
laboratories for elaborate identification. Such a situation
may arise when tape samples lifted from the fungus reveal
only hyphae without revealing the associated spores.
The cultivation helps in catalyzing sporulation, thus
making the identification quite possible. A definitive
identification might also be required for the elaborate
recognition of delicate and small sporulating structures.
Spores such as those of Beauveria and those of Periconia
sp are too small to provide good resolution while using
the lift tape. This is mostly common in Beauveria, Sporothrix,
Engydontium and other related fungi such as Periconi
sp. The reason for this is because there are those tape
lift samples that would not provide optical clarity
or allow an excellent resolution for good results.
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