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Chaetomium perlucidum is discovered in 1956 by Sergeeva. It is a species of fungus in the genus Chaetomium. Even though few works were done and most of the measurements come from available specimen grown in culture, it begins to draw people's attention after two cases of invasive infections were reported in United States, which identify C.perlucidum as the cause of Cerebral Phaeohyphomycosis.

History
Chaetomium perlucidum is first discovered by Sergeeva in 1956 and was wrongly published as Chaetomium fusisporum in 1979. Due to the fact that no known disease were linked to it, C. perlucidum is not as well studied as other species of Chaetomium genus (such as C.globosum). Current available studies on C. perlucidum are mostly descriptive, thus more studies are needed to provide a better and deeper understanding of the fungus.

Growth and morphology
The growth rate of C.perlucidum is moderately fast, approximately 4-5 mm/day. . It has an optimal growth temperature between 35°C - 37°C. Since it is known that C. perlucidum may cause disease in central nervous system, it has the ability to grow up to 42°C - 45°C.

A fungus within the same genus, C.subspirilliferum, is similar to C.perlucidum. First, their ascomata are similar in size. Second, both fungi have coiled ascomatal hair. The major difference between the two is the color of their ascomatal hair: C.perlucidum has grey ascomatal hair whereas the color of C.subspirilliferum is yellow-olive.

Mycelium

The mycelium of C.perlucidum has white and/or grey color with yellow shade.

Ascomata

The ascomata has a maturity period ranging from 13 to 16 days. The color is often a grey-olive green. It is spherical in shape with a dimension of 80-175μm. Its ascomatal hair are numerous and elongated. They are approximately 2-3.5 μm wide. They are also unbranched, with coiled upper region.

Asci

The fusiform asci of C.perlucidum is approximately 38-55μm x 11-16μm big. They are short and 8-spored.

Ascospores

The shape of its ascospores are spindle-like with rounded ends. One side is more flat than the other. The dimension of ascospores is approximately 12.5μm- 14μm x 6.5μm-7.5μm.

Physiology
Although few information are known about the fungus' physiology, it is still possible to obtain some basic information. The gender of C. perlucidum is neuter. Moreover, the anamorph stage is absent in this fungus, which means C. perlucidum only has the teleomorph stage. Thus, it relies solely on sexual reproduction by possessing structure called ascomata. Ascomata contains lots of asci which in turn contain ascospores.

Habitat and ecology
Moreover, it is acknowledged that many species within Chaetomium genus inhabit and digest different cellulose species, with their growth limited by temperature and the availability of carbon source. However, even this may apply to C.perlucidum (because it is part of the Chaetomium genus), more studies need to be done in order to find accurately the limiting factors which control the growth of C.perlucidum.
 * C.perlucidum is first reported in Ukraine in 1956. Further information showed that it is discovered in the city of Kiev and is collected from a dead herbaceous stem.
 * C.perlucidum is reported in soil from Catalunya, Spain in 1980 and in forest soil from Valencia, Spain in 1985.
 * C.perlucidum is also found in United States, Canada and from soil in Sinai, Egypt.
 * C.perlucidum is reported in a rabbit dung in Provence, France and in Poona, India without knowing the habitat.
 * From the known cases with the habitat recorded, it is possible to say that C.perlucidum is a soil-fungus since it is mostly found in soil in its natural habitat.

Pathogenicity
C. atrobrunneum C. strumarium and C. globosum are the known species within the genus Chaetomium which may affect human health. C.perlucidum is currently being studied. This is because it might be added to the list because it may be a new cause of Cerebral Phaeohyphomycosis.

The two cases which identify C.perlucidum as the cause of Cerebral Phaeohyphomycosis were reported in the same article and no other cases were reported prior or after this publication. As for now, there are still no known suitable treatment for Chaetomium infections, and some data suggest that Chaetomium species may be resistant to flucytosine and fluconazole. However, these findings are not specific for C.perlucidum and more studies are needed in order to find an appropriate treatment for C.perlucidum infection.


 * First case
 * The case is reported in Denver, Colorado, E.-U. in 1999.
 * A 45-year-old female is admitted to hospital for a umbilical cord blood transplant.
 * 10 days after the transplant, doctors notice an pulmonary infiltrate.
 * 16 days after the transplant, she suffered a massive hemorrhage and died 2 days later.
 * Autopsy demonstrated an invasive fungal infection caused by C.perlucidum, which is found in multiple organs such as lungs and brain.
 * It is also important to notice that this is the only case reported with fungal dissemination. No cases were reported in other species of Chaetomium genus neither.


 * Second case
 * It also occured in Denver, Colorado in the same year.
 * A 78-year-old female is admitted to hospital due to pneumonia.
 * She suffered an uncommon lung disorder,right-middle-lobe syndrome.
 * Lobectomy was performed and lung tissue culture showed the growth of C.perlucidum.
 * No further aggravations were shown.