Genus/species: Mucor sp.
Classification: Zygomycete
Morphology:
- Cell: shape of very fine threads topped with ball-shaped clusters of spores
- Colony: Malt agar: typically white to beige or gray and fast-growing.
- WL: typically white to beige or gray and fast-growing.
- Spore: formed on a globose sporangium
- Zygote: used in sexual reproduction, zygosporangium typically contains a single zygospore
- Ascus: N/A
- Liquid Growth: mold growth on top of liquid
Physiological Traits:
Fungi use sugar and amino acids from hosts such as fruits, soils, etc. as nutrient sources and then colonize the surface of the nutrient host.
Ecological Traits:
Soil, digestive systems, plant surfaces, rotten vegetable matter, organic matter, and dung
Distinguishing Features:
Mucor sporangiophores can be simple or branched and form apical, globular sporangia that are supported and elevated by a column-shaped columella. Mucor species can be differentiated from molds of the genera Absidia, Rhizomucor, andRhizopus by the shape and insertion of the columella, and the lack of rhizoids. Some Mucor species producechlamydospores.
Role in wine:
Mucor rot occurs as a post-harvest disease on fruits including table grapes and can cause significant loss. The rot is very rare in wine production grapes.
Sensitivities:
SO2: Yes
Sorbate: Yes
DMDC: Unknown
pH: Unknown
Acids: Yes
Ethanol: Yes
Anaerobiosis: Yes
Heat: >25 degrees Celcius
References:
Konig, Helmut, and Jurgen Frohlich. 2009. Biology of Microorganisms on Grapes, in Must and in Wine. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.