STUDY ON IDENTIFICATION AND ISOLATION OF

RHIZOPUS FROM DECAYING BREAD

 INTRODUCTION

• BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

 The scientific names of the fungi that grow on bread are ; Rhizopus Nigricans and Mucor stolonifera (Banwart, 2004).
 Both are commonly reffered to as “bread mold”.
 Rhizopus forms a mass of soft, closely woven white silky threads known as a mycelium which is the vegetative part of the
fungus.
 The mycelium consists of three sorts of hyphae as stolons which grow horizontally on the substrate (bread), rhizoid or root
like hyphae and sport Angiophores.
 The common bread mold (Rhizopus) finds new bakery items by means of air-born spores.
• STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
 Bread is mostly spoiled by fungi.
 The spoilage of bread due to decay, limit it’s availability to consumers and causes economic waste.
• OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
 To isolate and identify bacterial contaminants from bread decay.
 To isolate and characterize fungal contaminants from bread decay.
• SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
 Helps in the acquisition of the knowledge of Rhizopus from bread decay and fungi associated in the bread decay.
 Makes people aware of eating mold food because people eating moldy food may suffer allergic reactions and respiratory
problems.
• LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
 This study is simply a partial requirement of B. Sc (microbiology) programmed.
 This work is limited to viable microorganism present in the bread decay only.
• METHODOLOGY
 Bread from different vendors should be purchased for the study.
 Then the sample collected should be transported in a sterile polyethylene bag to the laboratory for analysis.
 The black mold collected from the bread should be allowed to stay in moist environment or at room temperature for 2-3 days.
 The mold should be then inoculated in the nutrient agar (N. A.) incubated and should be isolated and viewed under the
microscope for cultural characteristics.
 The culture media used for this experiment is :
 Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA)- SDA is known to support the growth of only fungi orgamnisms.
 Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA)- PDA is used for the cultivation of fungi which is a general purpose medium for yeast and
molds that can be supplemented with acid or antibiotics to inhibit bacterial growth.
• EXPECTED TIME
 The expected time period for this project is 2 months i.e Mangsir to Magh.
 In this period of time further literature review, sample collection, test of sample, culture, study, identification and report
preparation will be completed and submitted.
• EXPECTED BUDGET
The expected budget for the study are :

S.N PARTICULARS Expenses (NRs)

1 Chemical and Reagents 1500
2 Sample collecting container 500
3 Report writing 2000
4 Gloves, masks and safety measures 1000
5 Transportations 500
Total 5500
• REFERENCES
Alexander, M. 1999. The Mycoflora of Corn Silage. Journal of Veterinary Medicine. Vol 23. No. 1. pp. 57. Banwart, G. J.
2004. Basic Food Microbiology. A Westport Publication. pp. 505-544. Hocking, A. D. 2008. Mold and Yeast Associated with
foods of Reduced Water Activity. Ecological Interactions. In: Seow, C. C (Ed), Food Preservation by Moisture Control. Elsevier,
London pp. 57-72.