Calcarisporium
Characteristics: No information is available regarding health effects, or toxicity. Allergenicity has not been studied.
Description: Calcarisporium species comprise a small proportion of the fungal biota and may be more common in northern forested or southeastern areas of the United States. This organism is most closely related to Sporothrix and Nodulisporium. No information is available regarding health effects, or toxicity. Allergenicity has not been studied. May be identified on surfaces by tape lifts, tease mounts from bulk samples and in air by culturable (Andersen) sampling. (Spores do not have distinctive morphology and would be categorized as “other colorless” on spore trap samples.) Natural habitat includes other fungi (mushrooms in the families Agaricaceae and Boletaceae) and wood.
Cephaloascus
Characteristics: No information is available regarding health effects, or toxicity. Allergenicity has not been studied.
Description: Cephaloascus species comprise a very small proportion of the fungal biota. No information is available regarding health effects, or toxicity. Allergenicity has not been studied. May be identified on surfaces by tape lifts, tease mounts from bulk samples and in air by culturable (Andersen) sampling. (Spores do not have distinctive morphology and would be categorized as “other colorless” on spore trap samples.) Natural habitat includes wood, insects, and fruit.
Ceratoystis/ Ophiostoma Group
Characteristics: No information is available regarding health effects, or toxicity. Allergenicity has not been studied. Persons most likely to be possibly infected are lumber-yard workers or carpenters. A connection between Ophiostoma and the human pathogen Sporothrix schenicki has been proposed but not confirmed.
Description: It is often found in commercial lumber or in a living tree as a pathogen. It is disseminated as a wet spore by insects. For indoor growth this fungus generally originates from wood framing inside walls. No information is available regarding health effects, or toxicity. Allergenicity has not been studied. Persons most likely to be possibly infected are lumber-yard workers or carpenters. A connection between Ophiostoma and the human pathogen Sporothrix schenicki has been proposed but not confirmed. Ophiostoma ulmi is the cause of Dutch Elm Disease.
Cercospora
Characteristics: No information is available regarding health effects, or toxicity. Allergenicity has not been studied. There is one rare report of human infection in Indonesia in 1957.
Description: It is often found in plants as a parasite. It is disseminated as a dry spore by the wind. It is common to find outdoors or in agricultural areas, especially during harvest. As an allergen, it has not been thoroughly studied. As a pathogen, it has been reported to have caused one infection in Indonesia in 1957. It is not considered a toxigenic agent.
Chaetomium
Characteristics: Possible allergen Type I. Uncommon pathogen. Is a toxigenic agent.
Description: It is often found in soil, seeds, cellulose substrates, dung, woody, and straw materials. Spores are formed inside of fruiting bodies and are forced out an opening and spread by wind, insects, water splash, or any other sort of major disturbance. Commonly found indoors on damp sheetrock paper. As an allergen, it is not well studies, but has been associated with causing Type I allergies including hay fever and asthma. As a pathogen, it has been reported to be an uncommon agent of onychomyocosis (nail infection). As a toxigenic agent, it produces chaetomin. Chaetomium globosum produces chaetoglobosins. Sterigmatocystin is produced by rare species. Other compounds produced (which may not be mycotoxins in the strict sense) include a variety of mutagens.
Choanephora
Characteristics: No information is available regarding health effects, or toxicity. Allergenicity has not been studied.
Description: Choanephora species comprise a very small proportion of the fungal biota and may be more common in the southeastern areas of the United States. Two species are placed by some taxonomists into Blakeslea. No information is available regarding health effects, or toxicity. Allergenicity has not been studied. Rarely found but may be identified on surfaces by tape lifts, tease mounts from bulk samples, and in air by culturable (Andersen) and spore trap samples. (Spores have distinctive morphology.) Natural habitat includes soil and plants in tropical and semitropical regions.
Chromelosporium
Characteristics: No information is available regarding health effects, or toxicity. Allergenicity has not been studied.
Description: Chromelosporium species are common in soil but are not well known. This genus is most closely related to Amphobotrys, and Botrytis. It is extremely common in greenhouses growing on sterilized soil or vermiculite, in pots and flats. It is an asexual phase of Peziza (a cup fungus and Ascomycete), one of the macro fungi able to colonize indoor environmental surfaces. No information is available regarding health effects, or toxicity. Allergenicity has not been studied. May be identified on surfaces by tape lifts, tease mounts from bulk samples, and in air by culturable (Andersen) and spore trap samples. (Spores have somewhat distinctive morphology.) Formerly called Ostracoderma.
Chrysonilia
Characteristics: No information is available regarding health effects, or toxicity. Allergenicity has not been studied. A single case of human infection was reported in 1961.
Description: Chrysonilia is common and may be more common in the eastern and southeastern areas of the United States. The genus is heterogeneous and is not a natural grouping. Chrysonilia sitophilia commonly grows on sterilized soil in the greenhouse as well as bread (called red bread mold). It has a very rapid growth rate and can be a formidable problem as a contaminant in the laboratory. A single case of human infection was reported in 1961, which was an endophthalmitis following cataract extraction. No information is available regarding other health effects, or toxicity. Allergenicity has not been well studied. May be identified on surfaces by tape lifts, tease mounts from bulk samples, and in air by culturable (Andersen) and spore trap samples. (Spores are a form of arthrospore but are large, variable in size, and distinctive.) Natural habitat is said to be soil, according to some (but not all) references. Chrysonilia sitophilia was formerly called Monilia sitophilia.
Chrysosporium
Characteristics: It is pathogenic. Not considered toxic. Allergenicity has not been widely studied.
Description: Chrysosporium species are common and comprise a heterogenus group whose taxonomy has been widely debated. This genus is keratinophilic and/or cellulolytic and is closely related to the dermatophytes, those organisms infecting the skin. Geomyces is considered by some to be a Chrysosporium species. Health effects include rare reports of onychomycosis, skin lesions, and endocarditis. No information is available regarding toxicity. Allergenicity has not been widely studied. May be identified on surfaces by tape lifts, tease mounts from bulk samples, and in air by culturable (Andersen) sampling. (Spores do not have distinctive morphology and would be categorized as “other colorless” on spore trap samples.) Natural habitat includes soil, dung, children’s sand boxes, seeds, birds’ nests, and plant remains such as leaf litter.
Circinella
Characteristics: No information is available regarding health effects, or toxicity. Allergenicity has not been studied.
Description: Circinella species comprise a very small proportion of the fungal biota and are most closely related to Mucor. No information is available regarding health effects, or toxicity. Allergenicity has not been studied. May be identified on surfaces by tape lifts, tease mounts from bulk samples, and in air by culturable (Andersen) sampling. (Spores do not have distinctive morphology and would be categorized as “other colorless” on spore trap samples.) Recorded isolations are from soil, dung, and nuts (especially Brazil nuts).
Cladosporium
Characteristics: Common allergen Type I and III. Generally non-pathogenic, except for one species (Cladosporium Carrionii). Considered to have low toxicity.
Description: It is often found in soil, plant litter, as a plant pathogen, on leaf surfaces, or on old or decayed plants with an olive to brown coloration. It is disseminated as a dry spore by the wind. For indoor growth this fungus requires cool conditions. Most species of Cladosporium grow at 0°C and are generally associated with refrigerated foods. As an allergen, it has been known to cause Type I allergy symptoms including hay fever, asthma. It has also been known to cause Type III allergy symptoms including hypersensitivity pneumonitis called Hot tub lung, and Moldy wall hypersensitivity. As a pathogen, one specis called Cladosporium Carrionii, has been known to have pathogenic effects, but is generally found in subtropical and tropical regions. This specific pathogenic species grows at 35-37°C. As a toxigenic agent, it produces cladosporin and emodin, neither of which are considered highly toxic.
Coelomycete /Phoma
Characteristics: Allergen Type I. Pathogenic dependent on genus and species, but the vast majority do not cause disease. Not considered a toxigenic agent.
Description: It is often found as a saprophyte (an organism that grows on and derives nourishment from dead or decaying matter) or parasite on higher plants, other fungi, lichens, and vertebrates. It is disseminated as a wet spore by insects or water disturbance and as a dry spore by the wind. For indoor growth this fungus is generally found on a variety of substrates including, but not limited to, ceiling tile and linoleum. Coelomycete may have little effect on indoor air quality because in many genera, the spores are not readily disseminated by air currents. As an allergen, it has been known to cause Type I symptoms including hay fever and asthma. It can be pathogenic dependent on genus and species, but the vast majority do not cause disease. Not considered a toxigenic agent.
Cunninghamella
Characteristics: Cunninghamella bertholletiae is known as an occasional opportunistic pathogen, mostly after trauma with thorns or splinters. No information is available regarding other inhalation health effects, or toxicity. Allergenicity has not been studied.
Description: Cunninghamella species comprise a very small proportion of the fungal biota. This genus is most closely related to one spored mitosporangial zygomycetes such as Choanephora. Cunninghamella bertholletiae is known as an occasional opportunistic pathogen, mostly after trauma with thorns or splinters. No information is available regarding other inhalation health effects, or toxicity. Allergenicity has not been studied. Rarely found but may be identified on surfaces by tape lifts, tease mounts from bulk samples, and in air by culturable (Andersen) sampling. (Spores do not have distinctive morphology and would be categorized as “other colorless” on spore trap samples.) Cunninghamella species are mainly soil fungi of the Mediterranean and subtropical zones; they are only rarely isolated in other less temperate regions.
Curvularia
Characteristics: Common Type I allergen. Occasional pathogen. Not known to be a toxigenic agent.
Description: It is often found in plant debris, soil, facultative plant pathogens or tropical or subtropical plants with a grey or brown coloration. It is disseminated as a dry spore by the wind. As an allergen, it has been known to cause Type I allergy symptoms including hay fever and asthma. Curvularia is a relatively common cause of allergic fungal sinusitis. As a pathogen, it has been occasionally known to cause onychomycosis, ocular keratitis, sinusitis, mycetoma, pneumonia, endocarditis, cerebral abscess, and disseminated infection. Most cases of pathogenic symptoms occur in immunocompromised patients. It is not known to be a toxigenic agent.
