AgriMyc

Dimorphic fungi

Dimorphic fungi can exist in two (or possibly several) different forms and it is usually the temperature that determines in which form the fungus grows. Dimorphic fungi grow in yeast form (small budding form) at 37°C and in mold form (filamentous) at 25°C. There is a memory rule in English for this: Mold in the Cold and Yeast in the Heat. Thus, in mold form, the fungus grows as hyphae. If a dimorphic fungus infects a warm-blooded animal, it will thus grow in yeast form. If the temperature is decisive for the form in which the fungus grows, it is said to be thermally dimorphic.

Other factors than the temperature (e.g. the composition of the growth medium) may also affect the form in which the fungus grows. Candida albicans is an example of a dimorphic fungus.

Updated: 2021-02-23.