Bipolaris : Fungal Culture

Fungal culture is an important tool in the diagnosis and identification of fungal organisms. This image is from a tape preparation of fungal culture stained with lactophenol cotton blue. It shows numerous light-brown, septate hyphae and numerous conidia of bipolaris. Bipolaris is a filamentous fungus that belongs to a genetically diverse group of dematiaceous fungi characterized by the presence of melanin and melanin-like pigment in their cell walls that imparts them brown color.