Mold Quiz

c) Because they look like paintbrushes – The entire genus Penicillium got its name because their spore-bearing structures look like paintbrushes, which are called “penicilli” in Latin.

Penicillium sp. conidiophore (Photo source: AJC1, Wikimedia).

The correct answer is 8%, and the most common types (in two-thirds of cases) belong to the Penicillium/Aspergillus group.

b) 21%, which translates to approximately 4.6 million people suffering from mold-related respiratory problems only in the United States.

b). Molds are multicellular, filamentous fungi, while slime molds belong to a more primitive group of organisms called the Protista, which form unicellular or colonial forms such as amoebas and primitive algae.

(left) slime mold (right) mold (Photo source: D. Sadikovic, Mold Busters)

a) Penicillium/Aspergillus mold are the most common mold type in 38% of the investigated households.

c). Applying bleach to a mouldy wall will only contaminate the space with dangerous evaporations. Bleach only destroys the superficial part of the organism, while the rest of the mold and its spores can survive and continue to spread.

c) 96. A clinical survey discovered mold in mucus of 96% of patients suffering from chronic sinus infections, a disease which annually impacts more than 20 million adults U.S.

a) 13%, and the most common types (in more than half cases) are from the Penicillium/Aspergillus group.

b) Lobsters, because the shell of arthropods (crustations, insects, spiders, and such animals) and the cell walls of fungi (molds) are made of chitin, a structural polysaccharide (sugar) molecule.

The cell wall structure of Fungi (Photo source: Maya and Rike, Wikimedia)

c). Penicillium fungi are the most frequent cause of the green mold spots on old bread. Mouldy bread is not safe to eat as some green mould species can produce mycotoxins.

(Photo source: Henry Mühlpfordt, Wikimedia)