The relationship of Cladosporium carrionii to Cladophialophora ajelloi

Abstract

Twelve of 21 isolates of Cladosporium carrionii, when grown on nutritionally deficient media such as lactrimel agar, hay infusion agar, diluted corn meal dextrose agar, and water agar, produced urniform phialides and phialoconidia identical with those produced by two isolates of Cladophialophora ajelloi. All isolates of C. carrionii and Cph. ajelloi hydrolyzed urea in 7 days, but failed to liquefy gelatin. The decomposition of casein, xanthine, hypoxanthine, and tyrosine was found to be of no diagnostic value because of the variable results given by the isolates of C. carrionii. None of the C. bantianum isolates or commonly encountered saprophytic species of Cladosporium, such as C. cladosporioides and C. herbarum, showed the ability to form phialides on any of the media tested. Because of the identical nature of the two synanamorphs of Cph. ajelloi, namely the Cladosporium-type and the Phialophora-type, with those of C. carionii, Cph. ajelloi is considered to be a later synonym of C. carrionii. The Latin description of C. carrionii is emended to include the Phialophora anamorph.