Engyodontium album, a new species of ... - Biologia, Bratislava

Biologia, Bratislava, 59/1: 17—18, 2004 FLORISTICAL NOTES 

Engyodontium album, a new species of microscopic fungi 

for Slovakia and its keratinolytic activity 

Alexandra Šimonovičová 1 , Miroslava Gódyová 1 & Jiří Kunert 2 

1 Comenius University, Faculty of Natural Science, Department of Soil Science, Mlynská dolina, SK- 

84215 Bratislava, Slovakia; tel.: ++421-2-60296587, e-mail: asimonovicova@fns.uniba.sk 

2 Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Palacký University, Hněvotínská 3, CZ-77515 Olomouc, 

Czech Republic; tel.: ++420-585632153, e-mail: kunert@tunw.upol.cz 

The species Engyodontium album was isolated from 

damaged and moist wall in the building originated 

in 17 th century. In this building, the collection of 

some objects of primitive African art (textile material, 

wooden and serpentine sculptures) collected from different 

parts of Africa (Zimbabwe, Zaire, Zambezi valley) 

was arranged. 

The samples of damaged wall were taken by wiping 

with sterile cotton swab and transferred onto Petri 

dishes with media. The species Engyodontium album 

was isolated from a mixed culture on Sabouraud Maltose 

agar. For the cultivation of pure fungus the following 

media were used: Malt Extract Agar (MEA) and 

Sabouraud Maltose Agar (SAB), (Himedia, Bombay). 

The pure culture was kept on MEA and SAB agars 

in the dark at room temperature (22–25 ◦ C). The culture 

of Engyodontium album was observed microscopically. 

Observations under light microscope (Fig. 1) was 

made in a drop of distilled water with methylene blue. 

For more details scanning electron microscope (SEM) 

JEOL JXA-840 was used (Fig. 2). The samples were 

dried up at room temperature and coated with gold. 

The accelerating voltage 5V and electron current beam 

50–100 PA were used. 

ŠIMONOVIČOVÁ, A.,GÓDYOVÁ, M.&KUNERT, J.:Engyodontium album, a 

new species of microscopic fungi for Slovakia and its keratinolytic activity. 

Biologia, Bratislava, 59: 17—18, 2003; ISSN 0006-3088. 

The paper describes macro and micromorphological characteristics of Engyodontium 

album (LIMBER) DE HOOG (Hyphomycetes) and its keratinolytic 

activity on children hair. This species of microscopic fungi, new for Slovakia, 

was isolated from a moist and damaged wall in a historical building from 

17th century in Bratislava, where the collection of some objects of primitive 

African art had been arranged. 

Key words: microscopic fungi, Hyphomycetes, Engyodontium album, keratinolytic 

activity. 

Fig. 1. Conidiophores with conidiogenous cells of Engyodontium 

album, 1000×. 

17

Fig. 2. Detail of zigzag bent part of conidiophores of 

Engyodontium album, 1900× (SEM). Slightly flattened 

conidiophores and conidia were caused by rehydration 

(artifact in SEM). 

For testing the keratinolytic activity autoclaved 

children hairs were added to the fully grown cultures 

on Sabouraud agar and brought into contact with the 

surface mycelium. Alternatively, autoclaved hairs were 

inoculated directly with the mycelium and spores and 

kept in a humid chamber at 29 ◦ C in the dark. The 

degradation of hairs was observed under a light microscopeafter1to8weeks. 

The species Engyodontium album was determined 

using the key DE HOOG &GUARRO (1995). The 

isolate is held in CCF of the Department of Soil Science. 

Engyodontium album (LIMBER) de HOOG 

Recent synonym: Tritirachium album Limber 

Systematic position: Hyphomycetes, Moniliales 

On MEA and SAB the species Engyodontium album 

forms fast growing (2–3 days) and white coloured 

colonies appearing lanose to floccose up to 2 mm 

high. The reverse is uncoloured or light ochraceous. 

Colonies reaching 3.0–4.0 cm diam in seven days at 

room temperature 22–25 ◦ C. Conidiophores are ascending, 

2–4 µm wide, bearing elongate to subcylindrical 

conidiogenous cells (Fig. 1). Typical feature of 

18 

the genus Endyogontium is zikzak bent part of coniodiophores 

(Fig. 2) similary in the genus Beauveria 

(ŠIMONOVIČOVÁ & BENKOVÁ, 2000). The conidia 

are hyaline, smooth-walled, subspherical, 2–3 × 

1.5–2.5 µm. On MEA or SAB agars in test-tubes 

the species Engyodontium album grows extremely fast, 

in two-three days. In human population this species 

causes keratitis, cerebritis and endocarditis (DE HOOG 

& GUARRO, 1995). Engyodontium album is often 

regarded as a keratinophilic fungus (DE HOOG & 

GUARRO, 1995). Our strain overgrew the human hairs 

in culture. However, even after 8 weeks the hair degradation 

was week. 

The species Engyodontium album is rare and new 

for Slovakia and it has been not listed in the Checklist 

of non-vascular and vascular plants of Slovakia, part 

Fungi (LIZOŇ &BACIGÁLOVÁ, 1998). In the CCF in 

Prague, this species has been reported ex man from 

the Netherlands (KUBÁTOVÁ et al., 1996). 

Acknowledgements 

This work was partially supported by grant VEGA 

9114/02 and 9118/02. 

References 

HOOG DE, G. S. 1972. The genera Beauveria, Isaria, 

Tritirachium and Acrodontium gen. nov. Stud. Mycol. 

1: 1–41. 

HOOG DE, G.S.&GUARRO, J. 1995. Atlas of clinical 

fungi. Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, 

Baarn, Universitat Rovira i virgili, Reus, 720 pp. 

KUBÁTOVÁ, A.,VÁŇOVÁ, M.&PRÁŠIL K. 1996. CCF 

Catalogue of Filamentous Fungi. Novit. Bot. Univ. 

Carol., Praha, 120 pp. 

LIZOŇ, P.&BACIGÁLOVÁ, K. 1998. Fungi, pp. 101– 

227. In: MARHOLD,K.&HINDÁK,F.(eds),Checklist 

of non-vascular and vascular plants of Slovakia. 

Veda, Bratislava. 

ŠIMONOVIČOVÁ,A.&BENKOVÁ, S. 2000. Occurrenece 

of species Beauveria bassiana (BALS. – CRIV.) 

VUILL. in floodplain forest soils in the vicinity of 

Gabčíkovo Bull. Slov. Bot. Spoločn., Bratislava, 

22: 23–27. 

Received Oct. 25, 2002 

Accepted Oct. 22, 2003

Engyodontium album, a new species of ... - Biologia, Bratislava

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