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
Famous quotes containing the words black, bread and/or mold:
“As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it—whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.”
—Harper Lee (b. 1926)
“Hast thou named all the birds without a gun?
Loved the wood rose, and left it on its stalk?
At rich men’s tables eaten bread and pulse?
Unarmed, faced danger with a heart of trust?”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Odors from decaying food wafting through the air when the door is opened, colorful mold growing between a wet gym uniform and the damp carpet underneath, and the complete supply of bath towels scattered throughout the bedroom can become wonderful opportunities to help your teenager learn once again that the art of living in a community requires compromise, negotiation, and consensus.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)