What is the Difference Between Mucor and Aspergillus

Thekey differencebetweenMucorandAspergillusis thatMucoris a genus ofzygomycetesfungi whileAspergillusis a genus ofascomycetesfungi.

Fungi are eukaryotic organisms that come under the Kingdom of Fungi. There are unicellular or multicellular species. They are mostly filamentous heterotrophic organisms that are considered very gooddecomposersin the soil. Chitin is a compound that is unique to the fungal cell wall.MucorandAspergillusare two types of well-known genera of fungi.Mucorbelongs to the phylum Zygomycota whileAspergillusbelongs to the phylum Ascomycota. Most importantly,Mucorspecies are usually not pathogenic to humans while some species ofAspergillusare human pathogens.

CONTENTS

1.Overview and Key Difference
2.What is Mucor
3.What is Aspergillus
4.Similarities – Mucor and Aspergillus
5.Mucor vs Aspergillus in Tabular Form
6.Summary – Mucor vs Aspergillus

What is Mucor?

Mucoris a genus of zygomycetes fungi. Such fungi are commonly present in the soil, rotten or spoiled vegetable or food surfaces and in digestive systems. They are fast-growing filamentous fungi that appear in white to grey colour. Furthermore, they aresaprotrophicfungi that depend on decomposing organic matter in the environment. Mucor species reproduce via both sexual and asexual methods. Mucor reproduces asexually through fragmentation and sporangiophore formation. The sporangiophore ofMucoris branched. Upon maturity, the sporangiophore develops into a sporangium bearing asexual spores. Upon release, these asexual spores then develop into new functional mycelia. Sexual reproduction happens under harsh unfavourable conditions between two compatible mating types ofMucor(two opposing mating strains (type + and type –). Mating types produce gametangia from the hyphae to carry out sexual reproduction via conjugation.

Generally,Mucorspecies do not cause diseases in humans. However, some species can become opportunistic pathogens in immune-compromised people and cause mucormycosis, which is a rare disease.

What is Aspergillus?

Aspergillusis a genus of ascomycetes fungi that are commonly found in soil, organic matter, and other environments. This genus consists of about 300 identified filamentous species. Their hyphae are septate and hyaline. Most of theAspergillusspecies reproduce asexually by the formation of asexual spores. Other species use sexual reproduction.Aspergillus物种显示大工业的重要性。他们的弗吉尼亚州lue in commercial-scale organic acid and enzyme production is enormous. Citric acid is one of the major organic acids produced byA. niger.Over 99 % of the global citric acid production is done by the use ofAspergillusfungal species. Moreover, using fermentation,Aspergillusspecies synthesize enzymes such as glucose oxidase, lysozyme, amylases, pectinases, proteases, and lactase. This is very useful in industries when producing enzymes on a commercial scale.

Furthermore,Aspergillusspecies are useful as a bio-adsorbent to detoxify and decolourize wastewater samples. Moreover, they are useful in the biotransformation of xenobiotics, bioremediation and as a cell protein for feed. Not only those, but certainAspergillusspecies also act as potential biofertilizers, which can increase nutrients in the soil.

In addition, most of theAspergillusspecies are less harmful. But some species cause aspergillosis, pneumonia, otomycosis, cutaneous infections, and pulmonary disease, etc.

What are the Similarities Between Mucor and Aspergillus?

• Mucor and Aspergillus are two fungal genera of Kingdom Fungi.
• They are filamentous multicellular fungi.
• Both are eukaryotic heterotrophic fungi.
• They are commonly found in soil and decompose organic matter.
• They reproduce via sexual and asexual methods.
• Both types of fungi show commercial use.

What is the Difference Between Mucor and Aspergillus?

Mucoris a genus of zygomycetes fungi whileAspergillusis a genus of ascomycetes fungi. So, this is the key difference betweenMucorandAspergillus.Mucorreproduces asexually via the formation of sporangiospores whileAspergillusreproduces asexually via the formation of conidia. Furthermore,Aspergillusproduces asci whileMucordoes not produce asci.

The below infographic lists the differences between Mucor and Aspergillus in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Mucor vs Aspergillus

MucorandAspergillusare two fungal genera. Both genera include filamentous fungi.Mucoris a genus of zygomycota, whileAspergillusis a genus of ascomycota.Mucorproduces sporangiospores during asexual reproduction, whileAspergillusproduces conidia for asexual reproduction. Moreover,Mucorproduces zygospores during sexual reproduction butAspergillusproduces ascospores during sexual reproduction. Compared toMucor,Aspergillushas a great commercial value. Thus, this is the summary of the difference between Mucor and Aspergillus.

Reference:

1. “Classification of Fungi.” Lumen.
2. “Mucor.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Sept. 2021.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Sporangia of mucor” By Michael Antoni – Own work(CC BY-SA 4.0)via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo Aspergillus fumigatus 01” By Ufficio Comunicazione, Azienda Ospedaliera SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo, Alessandria and Biblioteca Biomedica Centro di Documentazione –(CC BY-SA 4.0)via Commons Wikimedia