Systematic position
Kingdom-Fungi
Phylum-Ascomycota
Order-Sordariales
Family-Sordariaceae
Genus-Neurospora
Occurrence
Neurospora is a saprophytic fungus. It has 12 species which occur mainly on bread, rotting leaves, burnt ground and charred vegetation and on such fruits as strawberries, raspberries and apples. Neurospora has been long been known as the bakery pest, causing considerable loss to bakers. Because of the characteristics of pink or red color of the conidia and the common occurrence in bakeries, it is often called red bread mold. Neurospora crassa with which much of the fundamental research and eukaryotic molecular biology and biochemical genetics has been carried out and is now genetically and biochemically one of the most intensively studied organisms.
Vegetative structure
The vegetative phase of Neurospora is a haploid filamentous mycelium. The individual mycelial filaments are called hyphae. The hyphae which grow superficially on the substratum, are branched pigmented with multinucleate cells.