Black Bread Mold
Ascophora mucedo
Mucor ascophorus
Mucor mucedo
Mucor stolonifer
Rhizopus nigricans
Rhizopus stolonifer var. stolonifer
Rhizopus stolonifer (black bread mold) is a widely distributed thread-like Mucoralean mold. Commonly found on bread surfaces, it takes food and nutrients from the bread and causes damage to the surface where it lives.
Asexual spores are formed within pinhead-like sporangia, which break to release the spores when mature. Germination of these spores forms the haploid hyphae of a new mycelium. R. stolonifer grows rapidly at temperatures between 15 and 30°C.
Rhizopus stolonifer is a heterothallic species (Schipper 1984), in that sexual reproduction happens only when opposite mating types (designated + and -) come in contact. Successful mating results in the formation of durable zygospores at the point of contact. Subsequently, the zygospore germinates and forms a sporangiophore whose sporangium contains both + and - haploid spores. There are two varieties: R. stolonifer var. stolonifer produces straight, erect sporangiophores, whereas those of R. stolonifer var. lyococcos are curved. A closely related species, Rhizopus sexualis, differs primarily in being homothallic (self-compatible).
Read more about Black Bread Mold: Distribution and Habitat
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