Microsporum nanum

Microsporum nanum is a pathogenic fungus in the family Arthrodermataceae. It is a type of dermatophyte that causes infection in dead keratinized tissues such as skin, hair, and nails. Microsporum nanum is found worldwide and is both zoophilic and geophilic. Animals such as pigs and sheep are the natural hosts for the fungus; however, infection of humans is also possible. Majority of the human cases reported are associated with pig farming. The fungus can invade the skin of the host; if it is scratched off by the infected animal, the fungus is still capable of reproducing in soil. When grown on Sabouraud's Dextrose agar at 25 °C, M. nanum produces a thin, powdery, and soft fibrous colony that appears white at the center becoming light yellowish-brown towards the colony margin. The reverse side appears brownish-orange in young colony and reddish-brown in older colony. The mitochondrial genome of M. nanum consists of 15 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNAs, 25 tRNAs, one intron and one intronic ......read more on Wikipedia.