Microbiology Series: Fourth in a Six-Part Series
Aspergillus

icTendichere are several hundred species of the genus Aspergillus. Fortunately, only about 20 of these are thought to be involved in human disease.¹

As is the case for most other molds that grow in water-damaged buildings, Aspergillus species multiply by asexual reproduction; that is they produce spores, also known by the scientific term conidia. The structures that produce these spores are known as conidiophores. The photo-10conidiophores are produced directly by the hyphal portions of the colony called the foot cell and end in a structure called the vesicle or head.²

The microscopic appearance of the Aspergillus species is decidedly …