(described by Micheli ex Persoon in 1801)
Description and Natural Habitats
Botrytis is a filamentous fungus isolated from decaying plants. Despite its cosmopolitan feature, it is more commonly reported from tropical and temperate areas.
Pathogenicity and Clinical Significance
No infections due to Botrytis have been reported in humans or animals. It may act as a facultative pathogen in plants and is commonly considered as a contaminant.
Macroscopic Features
It grows rapidly, reaching a colony size of 3 to 9 cm in diameter, following incubation at 25°C for 7 days on potato glucose agar. The texture is woolly. The surface color is white at the beginning and becomes grey to brown in time. Dark spots may be observed on the surface of the colony. Reverse is dark [1295, 2144].
Microscopic Features
It has septate, hyaline to brown hyphae and septate, brown, large conidiophores. Conidiophores branch at their apices. These branches terminate in vesicles which bear blastoconidia on their surfaces. The blastoconidia are located on short denticles, are hyaline to brown, one-celled, and round to oval in shape. Sclerotia or zones of dense pseudoparenchymatous tissue which are resistant to unfavorable environmental conditions are frequently formed. These are visualized as dark spots on the surface of the colony. The fungus sporulates more efficently when the culture plate is kept under UV lamp intermittently during incubation [1295, 2144].
Laboratory Precautions
No special precautions other than general laboratory precautions are required.
Susceptibility
No susceptibility data are available.