What is the Difference Between Microsporum Trichophyton and Epidermophyton

The key difference between Microsporum Trichophyton and Epidermophyton is that the species of the Microsporum genus are anthropophilic while the Trichophyton species are zoophilic, and species of Epidermophyton are both zoophilic and anthropophilic.

Dermatophytosis, also known as ringworm, is an infection of the hair, nails, and skin. It is caused by fungi known as dermatophytes. This condition is a common contagious disease. Dermatophytes are fungi that infect keratinized tissues in the body. They normally invade and grow in dead keratin. Hence, they are also known as keratinophilic fungi. There are three genera of dermatophytes that are causative agents of dermatophytosis. They are Microsporum, Trichophyton, and Epidermophyton. The Trichophyton genus most commonly causes dermatophytosis. The genera Microsporum or Epidermophyton less frequently cause the disease.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Microsporum
3. What is  Trichophyton
4. What is  Epidermophyton
5. Similarities – Microsporum Trichophyton and Epidermophyton
6. Microsporum vs. Trichophyton vs. Epidermophyton in Tabular Form
7. FAQ – Microsporum Trichophyton and Epidermophyton
8. Summary – Microsporum vs. Trichophyton vs. Epidermophyton

What is Microsporum?

Microsporum are filamentous keratinophilic fungi in the group of dermatophytes. Their natural habitat can be soil, various animals, and humans. Most of the Microsporum species are widely distributed in the world, while some have restricted geographic distribution. Microsporum fungi cause tinea capitis, tinea corporis, and ringworm.

Keratinase, proteinases, and elastase enzymes are virulence factors of this fungi. The colonies of Microsporum species are glabrous, downy, woolly, or powdery. Furthermore, Microsporum species produce septate hyphae, micro aleurioconidia, and macro aleurioconidia too.

What is Trichophyton?

Trichophyton fungi cause onychomycosis and various kinds of tinea, including athlete’s foot, jock itch, ringworm, and similar infections of the nail, beard, skin, and scalp. They are molds that have the characteristic feature of producing smooth-walled macro and microconidia. Macroconidia are mostly borne laterally directly on the hyphae or on short pedicels. Macroconidia are thin or thick-walled, clavate to fusiform in shape, and range from 4 to 8 by 8 to 50 μm in size. Microconidia are spherical, pyriform, clavate, or irregular in shape and range from 2 to 3 by 2 to 4μm in size.

Natural habitats of Trichophyton fungi include humans, and animals such as horses, hedgehogs, monkeys, fowl, and cattle. Trichophyton fungi colonies are white or cream with yellow pigment, and the surface has a powdery appearance. Furthermore, the virulent factors of Trichophyton fungi are enzymes like keratinase, protease, lipase, deoxyribonuclease, elastase, and collagenase.

What is Epidermophyton?

Epidermophyton fungi cause superficial and cutaneous mycoses, which include ringworm, athlete’s foot, and fungal infection of the nail bed. They produce powdery greenish-yellow colonies in SDA media.  Their colonies are generally slow-growing, greenish-brown, or khaki-coloured with a suede-like surface. These colonies are raised and folded in the centre, flat in the periphery, and show a submerged fringe of growth. The older cultures of these species may produce white pleomorphic tufts of mycelium.

They do not produce microconidia, and their macroconidia are club or pear-shaped. These fungi normally reside in the human skin, animals, or soils. Furthermore, adhesion factors, secreted proteases, and LysM domain contribute as virulent factors in Epidermophyton fungi.

What are the Similarities Between Microsporum Trichophyton and Epidermophyton?

• Microsporum, Trichophyton, and Epidermophyton are dermatophytes that are responsible for superficial mycoses.
• All three genera are categorized under the division Ascomycota.
• Species of all three fungal genera can cause skin infections.
• They can be controlled by azoles, allylamines, butenafine, ciclopirox, and tolnaftate, though they are resistant to cycloheximide.
• They have the ability to utilize keratin and grow in non-living tissues like hair, nails, etc.
• Therefore, they are keratinophilic.

What is the Difference Between Microsporum Trichophyton and Epidermophyton?

Microsporum are dermatophytes that only cause hair and skin infections, while Trichophyton are dermatophytes that cause all hair, nail, and skin infections, and Epidermophyton are dermatophytes that only cause skin and nail infections. Thus, this is the key difference between Microsporum Trichophyton and Epidermophyton.

The infographic below presents the differences between Microsporum Trichophyton and Epidermophyton in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

FAQ: Microsporum Trichophyton and Epidermophyton

What are the three types of dermatophytes?

The three main types of dermatophytes are Trichophyton, Microsporum, and Epidermophyton.

What are the most common dermatophytes?

The most common dermatophytes belong to the Trichophyton genus.

What is an example of an Epidermophyton?

An example of an Epidermophyton is Epidermophyton floccosum, a fungus that can cause skin infections in humans.

Summary – Microsporum vs. Trichophyton vs. Epidermophyton

Dermatophytes are a unique group of fungi that are able to infect keratinous tissue. Microsporum, Trichophyton, and Epodermophyton are three genera of dermatophytes that cause fungal infections in the superficial keratinized structures. They are also known as keratinophilic fungi. However, Microsporum only causes hair and skin infections, and Trichophyton can cause all hair, nail, and skin infections, while Epidermophyton only causes skin and nail infections. So, this summarizes the difference between Microsporum Trichophyton and Epidermophyton.

Reference:

1. “Microsporum.” Mycology | University of Adelaide.
2. “Trichophyton.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc.
3. “Epidermophyton.” An Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Microsporum spp” By Stefan Walkowski – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Chlamydospores – Trichophyton violaceum” By Nathan Reading (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED) via Flickr
3. “Epidermophyton floccosum” By Omar Cerna (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED) via Flickr