Black bread mold
Black bread mold, scientifically known as Rhizopus stolonifer, is a prevalent fungus often found on bread and soft-skinned fruits like strawberries and bananas. It thrives in warm, humid environments, using moisture and nutrients from its host food to grow and reproduce. This mold reproduces primarily through asexual spores but can also engage in sexual reproduction, involving two mating types that connect through filaments and pheromones. While black bread mold is typically considered a nuisance due to its ability to spoil food, it plays a vital ecological role by breaking down organic matter. Interestingly, this mold has been harnessed for beneficial uses in producing certain types of alcohol and acids. Despite its potential applications, the presence of black bread mold can lead to food waste and health concerns, prompting people to take preventive measures such as refrigerating or discarding affected items. Understanding black bread mold is essential for managing its impact on food safety and appreciating its role in nature.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Black bread mold
Black bread mold, formally known as Rhizopus stolonifer, is a common fungus that occurs in natural environments and homes. It most commonly appears on bread, hence its name, as well as soft-skinned fruits. It uses nutrients in these foods, along with moisture, to grow and spread. Black bread mold uses asexual reproduction in the form of spores. It may also use a form of sexual reproduction to grow across surfaces. Humans have found some helpful uses for black bread mold, but for most people, it is a nuisance that can ruin food.
Overview
A fungus is a type of living thing that is neither an animal nor a plant. Prior to the 1960s, scientists classified fungi as plants because fungi cannot move themselves. However, fungi do not behave like most other plants, which contain a special pigment called chlorophyll that allows them to create food via photosynthesis. Fungi need external food sources, just as animals do.
Tens of thousands of living things are classified as fungi, including yeast, mushrooms, and mold. A mold is a very small fungi that feeds on plant or animal matter. Molds use microscopic spores, similar to seeds, which may be transported through air to grow more mold. Some molds may expand across large areas, both outdoors and in people’s homes. Although widely considered a nuisance, molds play a vital role in environmental cycles because they break down and consume formerly living materials.
Molds are mainly differentiated by their colors: white, green, gray, and black. One of the most common forms of mold is Rhizopus stolonifer, or black bread mold. Black bread mold is a type of fungus that usually grows on bread, but may also grow on fruits such as apples, strawberries, bananas, and grapes—any fruit with thin skin that can be pierced easily. The mold uses the nutrients in these foods, as well as moisture in the foods and in the environment, to gather energy, grow, and reproduce. For this reason, black bread mold tends to appear most often, and grow most quickly, in humid places with warm temperatures.
Black bread mold has a life cycle of several stages and may reproduce by asexual as well as sexual means. The mold first appears as tiny specks known as sporangia on the surface of bread or other foods. The sporangia likely arrived on its host material due to mold spores. The sporangia grow hyphae, thin filaments that reach into the food and draw out nutrients. Later, other hyphae develop that extend above the surface. These produce new spores meant to disperse through the air to spread the mold.
Although mold usually forms and grows through spreading spores, black bread mold also has a function for sexual reproduction. The mold has two mating varieties, analogous to male and female cells, which release attractive chemicals called pheromones. The pheromones cause the mating types to grow filaments horizontally to spread the mold and connect the mating types.
In some cases, black bread mold may be useful to humans. Scientists have used this mold to create some types of alcohol as well as acids. However, in most cases, the mold presents problems because it can spoil food and sicken people. People can reduce the spread of this mold by covering and refrigerating their food and by discarding moldy food.
Bibliography
“Black Bread Mold.” Biology Wise, biologywise.com/black-bread-mold. Accessed 4 June 2021.
Cook, Maria. “Different Kinds of Bread Mold.” Sciencing, 11 Apr. 2018, sciencing.com/different-kinds-bread-mold-5956459.html. Accessed 4 June 2021.
Maxwell, Steve. “What to Know About Rhizopus Stolonifer (Black Bread) Mold.” Family Handyman, 9 June 2020, familyhandyman.com/article/rhizopus-stolonifer-black-bread-mold/. Accessed 4 June 2021.
McGregor, Jessica. “Bread Mold: How to Identify Types of Mold.” Science Trends, 26 July 2018, sciencetrends.com/bread-mold-how-to-identify-types-of-mold/. Accessed 4 June 2021.
Money, Nicholas P. Fungi: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2016.
Munson, Olivia. "What Happens If You Eat Mold? Get to Know the Risks, According to a Doctor." USA Today, 7 Apr. 2024, www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2024/03/13/what-happens-if-you-eat-mold/71332319007/. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.
Vidyasagar, Aparna. “Facts About the Fungus Among Us.” LiveScience, 4 Feb. 2016, www.livescience.com/53618-fungus.html. Accessed 4 June 2021.
“What are Molds?” North Central District Health Department (Connecticut), 2021, ncdhd.org/what-are-molds. Accessed 4 June 2021.
“What is a Fungus?” Australian National Botanic Gardens, 2012, www.anbg.gov.au/fungi/what-is-fungus.html. Accessed 4 June 2021.