Colonial appearance Microscopic appearance

Organism Mycelial phase Yeast phase Mycelial phase Yeast phase Clinical significance
Paracoccidiodes On SDA, white, On blood agar, Small, septate, Large, round to Paracoccidioidomycosis
brasiliensis glabrous, cream to tan, branched hyphae oval, thick-walled
leathery colony; moist, wrinkled with intercalary yeast cells with
turns tan-brown colony; turns waxy and terminal multiple buds
with age; short with age chlamydoconidia; that attach to
aerial mycelium few pyriform mother cell by
microconidia narrow
Growth rate: Very slow growing; constrictions;
usually requires 21-28 days resembles a
"ship's wheel"

Histoplasma On SDA, white to On BHI, moist, Septate hyphae Small, budding, Histoplasmosis
capsulatum brown or pink white to cream, with round to round to oval
mold with fine, heaped colony; pyriform yeast cells;
dense, fluffy
may be inhibited microconidia on intracellular to
texture; white,
yellow, or tan by cycloheximide short branches or mononuclear
reverse side or directly on hyphal cells with Giemsa
chloramphenicol stalk large, round, or Wright's stain
thick-walled
knobby
Growth rate: Slow growing; usually
requires 2-4 weeks at 25°C or 30°C tuberculate
macroconidia
forms

Blastomyces On Sabouraud On brain-heart Delicate, septate Thick-walled, Blastomycosis

dermatitidis Dextrose Agar infusion (BHI) agar hyphae with round large yeast cells
(SDA), first it is with blood, colony or pyriform conidia with single bud
white, waxy, cream to tan, borne singly on on a broad base
yeast-like and waxy, and heaped conidiophore or broad isthmus at
later cottony with or wrinkled; directly on hyphae, constriction
aerial mycelium; inhibited by resembling
turns tan to chloramphenicol
 brown with age or cycloheximide “lollipops”

Growth rate: 7-28 days

Coccidioides Moist, gray Similar to mycelial Coarse, septate, Large, round, Coccidioidomycosis
immitis membranous phase branched hyphae thick-walled
colony that that produce thick- spherules with
develops white, walled, barrel- endospores
cottony aerial shaped, observed in
mycelium; turns rectangular tissue and direct
tan to brown with arthroconidia that examination; not
age alternate with a true yeast
empty disjunctor
Growth rate: 5-14 days. cells
Growth may occur as early as 3-5 days.
Arthroconidia may need 1-2 weeks to
form.