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Trichophyton
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Image of Trichophyton rubrum
Image of Trichophyton rubrum
Trichophyton rubrum A 3D illustration of the threadlike septate hyphae of the fungus and the fungal spores, macroconidia, and microconidia.

Trichophyton

genus of fungi
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What is Trichophyton?

Where is Trichophyton distributed?

What are dermatophytes?

Trichophyton, genus of fungi that infects the skin, hair, and nails of humans and other animals. Fungi of this genus are one of several causes of athlete’s foot, jock itch, and other ringworm infections in people. Although worldwide in distribution, some species apparently are more abundant in some areas than in others. T. schoenleini, for example, is the cause of a human skin infection in the Mediterranean, and T. rubrum causes a similar disease in the tropics.

Taxonomy

Colony structure

Trichophyton species form smooth, cottony, or waxy colonies composed of transparent, tubelike filaments called hyphae (singular, hypha). The hyphae are septate, that is, partitioned by thin membranes, and may be branched in some species. Asexual reproductive spores—multicellular macroconidia and unicellular microconidia—may be present or absent depending on the fungal species. Some species may have either of the two spore types, but microconidia tend to be the more predominant type. Microconidia can be club shaped, pear shaped, irregular, or round and may be arranged in clusters or occur as solitary bodies. Trichophyton colonies are variously colored, with the common shades being cream, yellow, brown, purple, and red. Species-specific color on the reverse side (the side opposite to the visible surface) of fungal colonies helps in species identification.

Common species and related diseases

Trichophyton is among the three genera that are collectively called the dermatophytes, the other two being Microsporum and Epidermophyton. Dermatophytes cause dermatophytosis—infections of the skin, hair, and nails. Zoophilic Trichophyton species infect nonhuman animals, whereas anthropophilic species are found on humans. Some common Trichophyton species and the diseases they cause are:

  • T. verrucosum: ringworm in cattle
  • T. concentricum: tinea imbricata or tokelau (body ringworm) in humans
  • T. mentagrophytes: ringworm and related skin infections in mice, cats, guinea pigs, horses, parrots, chickens, and several wild animals, such as baboons, chimpanzees, and kangaroos, and can also affect humans
  • T. rubrum: tinea pedis (athlete’s foot), jock itch, and onychomycosis (nail infection) in humans
  • T. interdigitale: tinea pedis in humans
  • T. schoenleinii: favus (scalp infection) in humans
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Manjishtha Bhattacharyya.